The Weasleys and The Devil's Child
by Juliette
Summary: Series based on the weekly METMA challenges. The entire series is not as wacked out as many of the entries, but very funny, cute, loving, scandalous... did I mention funny? R/R... 4 straight first place fics!
1. The Weasleys and The Devil's Child - 1

A/N: this story was based on the following requirements, sento me by METMA Mandy. It was a Harry Potter fanfic challenge. *Enjoy* ~Juliette 

**-Voldemort must be pregnant**   
**-the father of Voldemort's *ahem* baby must be of the human species.**   
**-Ron cannot be gay. *YAY RON!!!!!***   
**-It must be funny**   
**-someone has to say: "Aw, look at the little punum..."**   
**-someone has to say: "My foot itches" (my foot does itch, thats what prompted**   
**that..)**   
**-straightjackets must be present**   
**-It has to be more than 2 pages long. But that shouldn't be too hard.**   
**and lastly,**   
**-someone has to say: "Ha Kof Sheli Be'Esh" (which is Hebrew for "my monkey is**   
**on fire" HAHAH!)**

(Currently Untitled -- Any Suggestions?)

"Wormtail, bring me my wand." Voldemort stood doubled over a toilet in his hideaway. He choked, then vomited into it. 

"Your wand, master." Peter hurried over to him, carrying the thirteen-and-a-half inch yew wand. "Master, per.. perhaps this was not the wisest choice," stammered Wormtail. 

"Are you questioning me Wormtail?" Voldemort's eyes flicked in his direction. All of a sudden, Voldemort covered his mouth, and vomited into the toilet again. 

"No, no of course not, ma-master, there are many women willing to have your heir!" 

Recovering from his last wave of sickness, Voldemort hissed at Peter "how dare you doubt Lord Voldemort!" He raised his wand, eyes full of hatred. Peter put his hands over his face, leaning over. 

"Master, forgive me!" He threw himself at his master's feet, and kissed the hems of Voldemort's robes. 

"Get up rat, get me Thalia Stark!" 

"Yes master," he said, getting up to leave. The stupid rat apparated, leaving Voldemort with his unborn child. 

* * * 

"Ugh!" Ron moaned. Hermione raised her eyebrow, looking up from her advanced Transfiguration text book. "Why me," he mumbled. 

"Ron, its just a stupid dance, no one cares," Harry said, finally giving up on his divination homework. 

"That's easy for you to say, you have a date!" Ron looked miserably around the room. The Fall Frolic Dance was on Saturday, and he was sure that there wasn't a single girl who didn't have a date. Even _Ginny_ had one! 

"Go with Hermione, you don't have another surprise date?" asked Harry. 

Hermione turned pink. "No..." 

"See, go with her..." 

"I will not!" Hermione buried her face in her text book. 

"Marry your book," Ron mumbled, storming out of the common room. He gave them both a desperate look, before disappearing into the boy's dormitory. 

"Hermione..." Harry started. She poked her head above the book. 

"Harry, I thought we could go together, but you asked Cho, and now I'm stuck." 

Harry started at her. "Hermione, I thought... how shall I put this? Well, we're just friends!" 

"I know, but Ron's _gay_, and he just doesn't know it yet, and it would be wrong to go with him, and..." Harry cut off her rambling. 

"What! What do you mean Ron's _gay_? No he's not!" 

"I thought... those robes he wore last year..." Harry doubled over laughing, shaking his head. 

"Those were second hand, I made Fred and George buy him some new dress robes, he's not _gay_," Harry reassured her. 

"Oh, do me a favor and let's pretend I never said anything, all right?" Harry nodded. "Tell Ron I'll go with him... actually, I'll go tell him myself." 

Harry sarcastically gasped. "Hermione Granger, _prefect_, top of _every_ class, going into the boys dormitory! I never thought I'd live to see the day..." 

"Shut-up Potter." Hermione rolled her eyes, and turned a little rosy. The common room was clearing out, and she was sure none of the remaining students would report her for breaking such a big rule. None the less, Hermione darted up the staircase as quickly as she could, careful not to trip on her robes. 

She knocked on the door. Surprised, Ron opened it, letting her in. Before he could speak, Hermione said "I know this is a boy's dormitory, but I need to talk to you." Ron stared at her blankly, then shrugged. 

"What's up, Herm?" She seated herself on his four-poster bed (an exact replica of her own), then patted the seat next to her. Ron flopped into it. 

"I heard you didn't have a date for the dance," she said, trying to put it into the simplest (yet effective) words she could. 

Ron smirked. "Nope, you heard correct." 

"I see..." Hermione looked at Ron's face. Her own face was only a foot away from it, and for the first time she saw a cute boy. Sure, she'd looked at him a million times, but never in a sexual way. He was slim and tall, well built... 

"Why are you staring at me?" Hermione broke her gaze. 

"Nothing, its just you've really grown." Ron turned bright red. _He's really cute when he's embarrassed, _Hermione thought. 

"Um, thank you," Ron muttered. He glanced around the room, then accidentally met her eyes. Neither moved; they kept staring. Ron's eyes began to water. He wasn't sure why he did it, but he reached out and put his hands over Hermione's. She interlocked her fingers in his, leaning forward a little... 

_"Oh My GOD!"_ Ron quickly pulled back, Hermione jumping off the bed. Neville Longbottom, wearing night robes, stood at the door connection the dormitory to an adjacent boys toilet. He looked from Ron to Hermione, then gasped. "Sorry, I'll go," he said. 

"Neville," Hermione started. He had gone back into the bathroom. She glanced at Ron, who was in total shock. "I better go," Hermione said. She ran out of the dormitory as fast as her legs would carry her. 

* * * 

Thalia Stark apperated to the location Peter had described. It was a small dark room, surrounded by shelves. The shelves held hundreds of bottles full of potions, some of which she recognized. "My lord," she called. She walked around the room, her long brown hair swishing behind her. 

Voldemort stood at the bathroom door, rather pale. "You look well, my lord," Thalia lied. 

"Liar," Voldemort's echoed through the room. "I want you to fix this!"   
  
"Fix what, my lord?" Thalia was frightened. 

"Fix what, my lord?" Voldemort mimicked, sarcastically. _ "This!"_ he screamed. The bottles shook, and he waved his wand dangerously close to her. 

"My lord, it is not to late to transfer that baby to my womb, I would be honored to deliver it." 

"My heir will come forth from my body, and my body only," Voldemort shouted, stubbornly. Thalia thought about the ridiculous operation she had performed on the man. She was a medi-wizard who worked for St. Mungo's Hospital. A few months ago, she decided that Voldemort's power was too great to resist, and she would rather join him than be killed by it. She did not like to consider herself a death eater; for she did not kill with her bear hands. 

During the summer, Thalia had successfully transfigured Voldemort's sexual organs into a fully capable female reproductive system. Afterwards, he fertilized an egg with some of his own bottled sperm, taken before the transformation. He was now five months pregnant with the heir. 

"My lord, morning sickness is a normal part of pregnancy. If you would allow me to transfer the baby, it would change no part of him..." 

"Stark, I could have you killed with the snap of my finger. Lord Voldemort commands you to rid me of this sickness, now!" 

"Very well, I will return shortly, I must look up a charm to help." She apparated before Voldemort could scream some more. It didn't really matter, because Voldemort had a sudden craving for watermelon and tuna. 

* * * 

"Hermione, what's wrong." Harry looked up from his divination homework (having decided to give it another go). 

Out of breath from running, Hermione clutched a stitch in her side and lied. "Nothing," she gasped. After a few minutes, she finally caught her breath. "I'm going to sleep, goodnight Harry." She collected her (large) pile of books, stacked on her desk. 

Harry narrowed his eyes. "So are you going to the dance with Ron?" he asked, suspiciously. 

"I'm not sure," Hermione admitted. 

"How can you not be sure?" 

"I decided you can ask him for me," Hermione said, a finality in her voice. She stormed up the girl's staircase, disappearing into her own dorm. 

Harry scratched his head. _Weird_, he thought. 

* * * 

Thalia apparated into her office in St. Mungo's. She picked a few volumes off her shelf, and began searching for spells to reverse morning sickness. There was a knock on her door. "Yes," she called. 

"Dr. Stark?" A short, plump woman stuck her head into the door. 

"Yes, yes, come in dear," Thalia said, closing the book. The woman walked in, then closed the door behind her. "Have a seat." The doctor motioned her into a desk chair, in front of her oak desk. 

"I'm Molly Weasley," the woman said, putting out her hand for Dr. Stark to shake. 

"What can I do for you, Molly?" Thalia was surprised how gentle she sounded. After all, she was a killer. I'm not a killer! _I'm a healer, stop telling me I'm a killer. Yes you are, you helped create the next Voldemort! SHUTUP!_

"Are you all right doctor?" 

"Yes," Thalia said, forcing a smile. "Now, how may I help you, Ms. Weasley?" 

"Mrs.," corrected Molly. Thalia nodded. "Well, er, you see..." _Oh hurry up, woman, I have better things to do..._ "My husband and I, Arthur, we have seven children." 

"Seven! That's incredible, how do you manage?" 

"Its been difficult, but three of them are grown up already, but that's not my problem, doctor. You see, we didn't think we could have any more, I'm not so you, you see what I'm saying?" Thalia nodded, trying to sound concerned. 

"So, you're pregnant, Mrs. Weasley?" Molly turned bright red and nodded. "And you don't want the baby," Thalia continued. 

"Well, you see, its not that I don't want it, its just we can't keep it." _Dear woman, there's other doctors who could easily rid you of your unwanted child, why'd you have to come see me?_ "I love children, honestly, I had seven!" Mrs. Weasley was rambling on. "I just can't handle another pregnancy, even though I practically wrote the book on how to cope with it." 

Thalia shot up in her seat. "Would you happen to know anything about getting rid of morning sickness?" 

"As a matter of fact, I know a useful little charm..." 

* * * 

"Ron?" 

"Hmm?" Ron looked up from his comic, _The Adventures of Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle._ "Did you say something, Neville?" 

"Yes, you can't pretend I didn't see anything," he said, rather bravely _(we're talking about Neville!)._

"I can try," Ron said, flipping the page. "We were talking, all right." 

"Uh... all right. Goodnight." Neville drew his curtains, and was snoring in a few minutes. 

When Harry entered the dormitory, Ron was still sprawled out on his bed, reading the same magazine. "What was Hermione so fazed about?" he asked. Ron shrugged. "She wants to go to the dance with you," Harry said. Ron snorted, which Harry took as a _'yes.'_ "All right, I'll tell her tomorrow, goodnight," he called, stepping into the bathroom. 

* * * 

Thalia apparated back into Voldemort's hideaway, feeling pleased with herself. The Weasley woman turned out to be more useful than she'd bargained for. "My lord, I have the charm ready." Thalia could hardly keep herself from laughing at what she saw. Voldemort was eating canned pickles at an alarming rate. 

He turned and gave Thalia Stark an evil look, while shoving another pickle in his mouth. She reckoned Voldemort was the only living sole (if that's what you could really call him) who could look evil while pigging out. Not to mention his enormous stomach, which made him look quite silly. 

Finally calming down, Thalia trusted herself to speak without giggling. "My lord, I have a charm which will rid you of morning sickness at any time of the day (it was late evening)." Voldemort stood, eagerly awaiting her treatment. When she had completed the simple charm (which she had to admit was quite brilliant), she apparated back to the hospital. 

Molly Weasley was waiting for her in her office. "I hope your important call went all right," she said gently. 

"Yes, rather well, thanks to your charm." Molly blushed. "Are you ready?" Dr. Stark asked her. She nodded. "This way," she said, leading the plump woman into an examining room. "Would you like to know if it was a girl or boy?" The question seemed rather innocent, but Mrs. Weasley burst into tears. 

"I have six boys," she explained. "All I ever wanted was a daughter, my baby Ginny is growing up so quickly." Thalia tried to comfort her. She promised herself to tell Mrs. Weasley that her unborn child would have been a boy. 

* * * 

Ron couldn't sleep. He played and replayed what had happened between him and Hermione in his head. _I don't like her,_ he tried to tell himself. Hermione, the girl he'd _loved_ to hate for four years stood out brightly in his mind. She wasn't beautiful, but she glowed in a way even a veela couldn't. She was intelligent. _Intelligent_ was a huge understatement. Hermione was genius; she was the smartest person Ron knew. He loved her. _I think I love her_, there I said it! 

* * * 

The next morning, Ron entered the great hall with Harry. Hermione was already seated next to Ginny, reading the _Daily Prophet._ "Morning," Harry called. She glanced above the newspaper, smiling at them. Harry sat down across from Ginny, Ron across from Hermione. 

"Ron, are you going to the dance with Hermione?" Ginny asked. She smirked, knowing how her brother would react. He silently tried to kick her under the table, feeling his face turn crimson. Instead, he kicked Hermione's knee, and she yelped. Harry watched, not even bothering to hold back laughter. 

"Yes, I'm going with Hermione," Ron's eyes pierced Ginny's and she slouched in her seat. "Who are _you_ going with?" 

Ginny's face turned red, matching her brother's remarkably well. "Colin Creevy," she stammered. 

"Are you two starting a Harry Potter fan club?" 

"Leave me out of this, Ron," Harry said, between mouthfuls of hot cereal. 

"Let's just drop it," Hermione said, finally voicing her opinion. "You guys love each other, stop fighting," she added. 

"Ron loves _you_," Ginny squealed, running from the table in the process. Ron leapt up, toppling over a glass of orange juice. Ignoring it, he ran after his sister. Hermione sighed, whipped out her wand and summoned the juice back into the cup. 

Fred and George Weasley were the next to seat themselves at the table. They took their siblings' places, pushed their plates out of the way, and smirked at Hermione. "So, we here your dating out little brother," George said (let's just say they're sweaters had their names on them). 

"Eh, I'm going to the dance with him, if that's what you mean," she told them. 

"We're very protective of our only little brother," Fred said. Hermione looked from one to the other, clueless. "Yes, you'll have to pass a _Weasley Worthy Test_ to date Ron." 

"A what _what_?" Hermione choked. 

"A _Weasley Worthy Test_, _WWT_. Many have died taking it." Hermione seriously hoped that last bit was made up. 

"Er..." she said. 

"Just kidding," George said, completely changing his voice. "Welcome to the family, Fred said. They both hugged Hermione. She still looked puzzled. "We were just worried, we thought Ron was _gay_." 

"Ron... _gay_?" Hermione chuckled. _ I wonder where they got that idea?_

"Who's gay?" Ron and Ginny came (panting) over to the table. 

"Well no one," Fred said innocently. "Nope," George said. 

"Ok then," Ron said, suspiciously. "Those are our seats." 

Fred and George got up politely... almost too politely. "I'll be watching you," Fred whispered into Hermione's ear. She turned rosy pink. 

"Hey!" Ron called after him. "What did he say to you?" he asked, turning back to Hermione. 

"Nothing," she replied. _Obviously not._

* * * 

Molly Weasley woke with a start. "My baby," she whispered. Tears rolled down her chubby cheeks, falling onto her husband's shoulder. He stirred, then opened his eyes. 

"There, there, Molly," he kissed her cheek. 

"Oh Arthur!" She buried her head in his chest, whaling. "It was so unfair for the child, even if he was a boy. We're so selfish!" 

"Molly, honey, we have seven beautiful children, they're not perfect, but we did the best we could. We can't afford _another_ one, not to mention you can't handle another pregnancy." 

"We could have managed, Arthur, _somehow_." Molly lay silently crying in her husbands arms, falling asleep again. All she could think of was wanting another child. Already, three were all grown up. Fred and George were leaving Hogwarts this year, which only left her babies, Ron and Ginny. She _wanted_ another baby. 

* * * 

Harry pulled his old dress robes over his head, five minutes before he had to be in the great hall. He hardly gave himself a look-over in the mirror, before running out of the dormitory. Ron, who's date was waiting for him in the common room, took more time to admire his work. 

He wore long navy blue dress robes. There were no lacy things on it, anywhere. He danced in front of the mirror until Dean Thomas came in, laughing his head off. Deciding it was best to go, Ron headed down the dormitory steps, and was almost blown away by Hermione. 

If she'd been beautiful for the Yule Ball, it was nothing compared to the way she looked now. She wore long, elegant violet dress robes and beautiful matching slippers. Her hair was done up in a perfect perm, held up by little clips (Ron suspected the whole thing was actually magically held up), but was awed none the less. There wasn't an once of makeup on her face, but it glowed. 

"Wow," Ron whispered. Hermione walked over to him, her robes swishing behind her. She smiled gently at him, which nearly made Ron's knees buckled. "Hello," he said stupidly. But for once, Ron wasn't worried what she thought of him. He had on decent robes, and he felt that Hermione knew him too well to expect much less than idiotic comments like _hello_. 

"Hello," she smiled. "We're going to be late." Hermione took his hand, which felt extremely soft in his own. He bowed awkwardly at her, and they set off for the great hall together. 

Harry was already there, standing with his date, Cho Chang. Cho was beautiful, but Ron had no trouble keeping his eyes on his own date. In fact, he couldn't keep them off of her. _They danced._

Twenty minutes later, exhausted, Ron and Hermione collapsed in a chair. They'd been dancing the entire time, never stopping to rest. Despite their height difference, they were the life of the party. They were having the time of their lives. 

A slow song came on, and Hermione stood, eyeing her partner to follow. He stood, taking her hand, this time leading her onto the floor. Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck (which was quite high), and Ron wrapped his arms around her waist. They twirled around to the beat of the music, swaying their hips, not really noticing that they were being stared at. 

When the song ended, Ron leaned down and pecked Hermione on the cheek. Immediately, he his face grew hot. _ He really is cute when he's like that,_ Hermione sighed. "What was that for," she whispered, so passing couples wouldn't here her. 

"I'm not sure," he replied. 

"I liked it," she whispered back. 

"Me too." Hermione wasn't sure how much more the boy could take. As it was, he looked like a red balloon. "Do you want to go for a walk?" Ron suggested. 

Hermione nodded. She lead him out of the busy hall, unnoticed. Neither spoke until they'd reached the fat lady, having decided to go back to Gryffindor Tower, rather than be caught roaming the school by Filch. 

The Fat lady rolled her eyes at them, then opened the door. "After you," Ron gestured, helping Hermione climb into the hole. Her bare leg showed for a moment, as she stepped over it, and Ron was transfixed on her smooth skin. He reminded himself that it was probably a charm, but none the less, he was awed by her skillfulness. 

"Ron?" 

"Hmm," Ron said. He realized she was staring at him, and he was staring at her bottom. "Sorry..." Hermione giggled. 

"Common," she said, helping him into the room. "Let's go up to your dormitory, everyone's at the ball," she whispered. The whispering only added effect, for there was no one in the huge common room. Ron nodded weakly, wondering if his feet would carry him that far. 

Somehow they did, because Ron found himself and Hermione in his dormitory. They were still standing, somewhat awkwardly. "Ouch," Hermione said, pulling up her foot. 

"What, I didn't step on your toes or something?" 

"No... my foot itches" She kicked off her slipper, revealing five perfectly polished toes, and a beautiful silky foot (magic, again). Trying to balance herself, Hermione rested her foot on the top of Ron's right leg. She leaned forward then scratched her foot. As she was leaning, Ron got a full view of her cleavage. It had never looked so large, which lead him to believe she'd enhanced it, but this didn't bother him the slightest bit. 

"Ahh!" Hermione slipped, losing her balanced. She grabbed onto Ron's arms, and her foot slipped down his robes. As it did, she felt something large and hard under her toes. Ron felt it too. 

After a minute, she looked at his face. It was by far the reddest she'd ever seen it before. She felt her own cheeks growing hot. "Ha Kof Sheli Be'Esh," he mumbled. 

"What was that," Hermione asked. 

He repeated it, "Ha Kof Sheli Be'Esh." 

"I heard it the first time, is that," she scratched her head, "is that _Hebrew_?" He nodded. "What's it mean?" 

"Bill made it up, its a Weasley code." Hermione still looked puzzled. Ron turned away from her, "it means _my monkey is on fire._" 

Hermione burst out laughing. "It sure is," she grinned." Ron forced a smile, glowing. Hermione glanced down at his robes. There was a huge lump between his legs, which was noticeable from a mile away. "Sit down," Hermione motioned him onto his bed. 

She gingerly removed her slippers and crossed her legs (making sure he couldn't see her underwear; she could see him trying). "Ron, this stuff is all enhancing charms I looked up, I don't want you to think I'm really like this." 

"Hermione, I've seen you when your not like this, of course I know they're spells. Your beautiful either way." Ron wasn't sure how he'd managed to speak such truth. Normally, he was clumsy and stupid around girls he liked. "I realized how much I like you, you know the night you came in here..." 

"I like you too," Hermione whispered. She leaned in, this time kissing him gently on the lips. When she pulled away, she asked, "did you like that?" he nodded, stupidly. She kissed him again, lettering his tongue enter her mouth. She wrapper her arms around his neck, pulling him close to her. 

* * * 

"Harry," Cho called. He was dragging her all over the hall, looking for his friends. "Harry, I bet they left to talk or something." Or _something_, that's what worried him. 

"I'm sorry Cho, I was just worried." She looked down into his green eyes (she was taller than him), which made him calm down. 

"Let's go dance," said Cho, soothingly. Harry nodded. Halfway through their slow dance, two boys came loudly into the hall, causing most of the couples to stop dancing. They made their way over to the center of the dance floor. 

"Have no fear..." 

"Fred and George are here!" The hall laughed. Harry searched his mind, trying to remember where the line was from. _Oh well._

Fred and George Weasley stood side by side, wearing identical rouge grins and (_gasp_) straightjackets. Murmurs broke out in the hall; many of the students had never seen a straightjacket in their life. 

"Its our last year here," George (let's just say he's George) told the entire hall. No one was dancing anymore, they were waiting to see what the Weasley twins were going to do. 

"Yeah, and we're gonna go out with a bang," Fred said. 

"BANG," said George. He raised their wands and shouted an unfamiliar spell. At the same time, Fred cast a smoke spell, filling the hall with mist. No one realized what had happened until the smoke cleared. 

Everyone's dress robes were inside out, and their underwear was on top of them! students were shouting and running in every direction. 

_"WEASLEY!"_ Professor McGonagall came running across the chaotic dance floor. She grabbed Fred and George by the ears, pulling them out of the hall, most likely to Dumbeldore's office. 

Had Harry's boxer shorts not been ontop of his robes, he might have laughed. He stared at Cho, who had green panties. She tried to cover them with her hands. "Harry, stop looking at me like that," she said. 

"Sorry. I guess I'll see you tomorrow," he called, leaving. Harry ran as quickly as he could up to Gryffindor tower. Even if the dance hadn't been canceled, it was nearly over. Wanting to get to the dormitory before the others, he leaped up the stairs, two at a time. 

Harry flung open the door, and what he saw almost blinded him. There, on Ron's bed were two bodies, rolling around. "Ron?" Ron sat up, looked at Harry, horrified. Hermione ducked her head in Ron's chest, but Harry could tell it was her. "Hermione?" She slowly turned, and met his gaze. Harry clasped his hand over his mouth. 

They both stared at Harry. _Why is are his robes inside out, and why is he wearing boxer shorts ontop of them?_ Hermione didn't blink. _Shut-up, he just caught his two best friends making out, and all you can think about is his underwear._

Ron didn't trust himself to speak. His face burned with shame. _Why am I shameful? We really didn't do anything wrong..._ Harry backed out of the room. "I'll come back when Hermione leaves," he said, then closed the door. 

* * * 

Molly Weasley spent three months writing her book. She had been inspired by Dr. Stark, who had praised her morning sickness charm. The book was the story of her own six pregnancies. Although in story form, it could also be considered a handbook. She shared her useful spells and potions, as well as tips for raising large families. 

When the publishers met with Molly, she was nervous. They helped her edit, then published her book. By mid-March, _Mrs. Weasley's Guide to Pregnancy_ was a complete success. The book was selling as well as Lockhart books had a couple years ago. Molly even won the _Amazing Witch of the Month_ award. The _Daily Prophet_ gave her such praises as _"The next big Lockhart."_ Of course, Lockhart had disappeared; few knew that he was a fake. By April, the Weasley's never had to worry about money again. 

* * * 

Thalia Stark wasn't sure how she'd gotten Voldemort through his pregnancy in one piece. She used Mrs. Weasley's book, which helped a lot, but his mood swings were unbearable. The child was due any day, and Thalia was forced to take a week's "holiday" to aid her lord. 

Voldemort lay, legs open on a hospital bed in his hideaway. His water had broken, and was having regular contractions. "Breathe," Thalia soothed him. 

"Don't tell me to breath, damn woman!" Voldemort tried to sit up, but the weight of his baby was too great. Thalia frantically flipped through _Mrs. Weasley's Guide to Pregnancy_, looking for something to ease labor pains. 

"Ah," she sighed, then ran to find the ingredients for the potion. She returned a few minutes later, giving Voldemort the goblet. "Drink this, my lord, it will help." Voldemort put the drink to his lips, then gulped it down in one go. He dropped the goblet, and it crashed on the stone ground. 

* * * 

"Ron," Hermione moaned. He looked up. "Why do you have to go home for the Easter holidays? I'm gonna miss you!" 

"Hermione, we've been over this. My mum and dad have something important to announce, I didn't have a choice." She gave him the puppy dog eyes. "I'll miss you too," he added. She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "I'll write you everyday," he promised. 

"Ok, goodnight," she said, going up to her dorm. Hermione and Ron had been an official couple for several months. Harry was used to their closeness; it no longer bothered him. 

The next morning, Harry helped Ron carry his trunk down the steps. Hermione was waiting for them in the common room. She dragged Ron away to say their good-byes, leaving Harry to carry the heavy trunk by himself. "He'll be back next week!" Harry said, hoping to get a response. He did get one, but not one he'd expected. Ron, who was kissing Hermione, stuck up his wand, and started blasting sparks out the end. _"All right, all right, sheesh,"_ Harry mumbled.. 

* * * 

Thalia wrapped the child in a blanket. After twenty hours of labor, it had finally entered the world. She felt bad for it, its mother and father were one and the same, and he was pure evil. "My lord, your child," she presented it to him. Voldemort grabbed the baby, who started whaling. "Be gentle," Thalia screamed. He disregarded her. 

"Its a... a girl!" Voldemort stuttered. "I will not have it, dispose of it!" 

"My lord, you always assumed that it would be a boy, there was an equal chance for a girl." 

"Wormtail!" Voldemort shouted. Thalia didn't wait for the rat-death eater to come. She grabbed the baby and apparated back to St. Mungo's. 

* * * 

Ron, Ginny, Fred and George Weasley sat together on the Hogwarts Express. They were minutes from Kings Cross station, and still couldn't figure out why they'd been called home. As the train slowed to a stop, Ginny suggested the best answer yet. "Its got to have something to do with the book," she said. 

"Probably," Ron said. He was gazing out the window, thinking about Hermione. 

"Ah, Ron, snap out of it," George said. "Mum's gonna notice your in love," he added. 

"I'm not in love, what are you talking about?" Ron looked at his three siblings. They all nodded and smirked. "Ok, so maybe I am..." 

"Kings cross!" someone shouted. They unloaded their trunks and made their way onto the platform. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, as well as Bill, Charlie and Percy were all waiting for them in the station. 

Percy was complaining. "Just because its Easter, doesn't mean I can just take a week off. I have loads to do in the ministry..." 

"Shut-up, Perc," Charlie said. Bill nodded his head in agreement. 

"Mum," Ginny squealed. Mrs. Weasley threw her arms around her baby. 

"Is that Molly Weasley," someone shouted. They all looked up. It was a _Daily Prophet_ reporter. "This must be your entire family," the woman said, counting the children. "Le'me have a photo, could be front page material." So they all turned and waved at the camera, which took several minutes, because the photographer wanted to take several photos. 

When the reporters had finally left, Molly said she had an announcement. "Are we moving," Fred suggested, hopefully. 

"No, although we're going to add more extensions to the house, but that's not my announcement," Molly said, getting slightly frustrated. 

"What is it, mum?" Percy asked, having finally stopped complaining about leaving the ministry. 

_"If you'd let me get to it!"_ Molly looked at her children's eyes. They brought warmth back into her own. "Sorry, I didn't mean to yell." Arthur placed his arms on his wife's shoulders. 

"See what your mother is trying to say is, is we want to adapt a baby." 

"A _what!_" came seven voices. 

Ignoring them, Molly spoke. "We're going to St. Mungo's right now, we're going to take home a baby." Ginny was the only excited one. Molly's son's looked horrified, especially the older ones, who remembered watching after their younger siblings, especially the twins. 

Arthur pulled out an old muggle alarm clock. "This is a port key, its set for 6:00, we have ten minutes. Molly, you go now. Billy, Charley and Percy will apparate there in a few minutes." Molly nodded, then disappeared. "Apparate to the Natal wing in St. Mungo's." The older boys nodded, then left. 

"Dad, why don't we use floo powder?" Ginny asked. She didn't like port keys. 

"We could, but there's no chimneys here." 

"What about our trunks?" Ron asked. 

"We'll pick them up on the way home," Mr. Weasley replied. He glanced down at the clock. "All right, touch the clock," he instructed them. The alarm began ringing, and they disappeared. 

* * * 

Mrs. Weasley was examining babies in the nursery. There were only three babies up for adoption. "Why don't we just get a dog," Fred suggested. 

"Be quiet, Fred," Molly snapped. The nurses were looking on curiously. They swore by Mrs. Weasley's book, and were surprised that she was adopting. Two of the babies were boys, quite beautiful, but Ron knew his mother had her heart set on another girl (she complained about her numerous son in her book). 

Molly expertly lifted the girl out of her crib. She had thick, dark hair and black eyes. Very un-Weasley looking, but none the less, Molly fell in love with her. She sang a lullaby softly, causing the baby to fall asleep in her arms. The entire Weasley clan crowded around her, looking at their new baby sister. 

"Aw, look at the little punum..." George joked. Ginny shot him a death glance. "Sorry Gin." 

* * * 

After the paper work had been filled out, and the Weasley's had left, Thalia Stark collapsed in her chair. She had just given Lord Voldemort's child to them. She didn't want to have anything to do with him anymore, but knew that running from him would mean certain death. What could she do? Thalia thought long and hard. She had to do it, she was going to see Dumbeldore...   
  


_Ok, here's the thing. When I started this, I didn't really think about making it a series, just making a funny, short story (actually I'm up to page 16, so its not really that short). I'm working on another series called the Hogwarts Four, so it'll be hard to write both at the same time. (this is the site for The Hogwarts Four: [http://mypage.goplay.com/hpfanfic/][1] ) So, if you liked this story, plesase tell me, otherwise I'm gonna drop it. Thanks to METMA Mandy for sending the challenge. Check out her work, its really good. ~Juliette_   


   [1]: http://mypage.goplay.com/hpfanfic/



	2. The Weasleys and The Devil's Child - 2

A/N: Ok, I know not a lot of people read part one, but those who did encouraged me to write another part. The story is going to have four in all, this is the second. Each one is based on the plot and METMA Mandy's weekly challenge. My plan is to win a whole months worth of them (::evil laughs::) If you didn't read the first part, its definetly worth reading or else you'll be completly lost in this one. When I'm doing with all four parts, I'll slap them together in one ff.n file, until then, theres always my pathetic links (LOLZ). Now that you _know_ I'm crazy, here's part two to The Weasley's and The Devil's Child: 

[CLICK HERE TO READ PART ONE OF THE FIC][1]

**So, here's the new challenge:**   
**-It must be funny**   
**-A singing coyote must be present.**   
**-Someone has to say, "Ani rotzah lalechet le beit shimoosh" (Which means "I**   
**want to go to the bathroom" in hebrew.) [I'm fond of these phrases, I think**   
**they'll be an ever present item in the challenges]**   
**-A human character must lose a toe.**   
**-An rabid hippogriff must be present at one point.**   
**-Cherry Chapstick must be in the fic. *snorts***   
**That's all, except...**   
**-Someone has to say, a la Paul Revere: "The British are mooning!! The British**   
**are mooning!!"**   


  


The Weasleys and The Devil's Child

Part Two

_ Chapter One - Discoveries at The Borrow_

Mr. Weasley, Bill, Charlie and Percy apparated back to Kings Cross station to retrieve Ron, Ginny and the twin's trunks. The rest of the Weasleys went back to The Burrow, via floo powder. 

Ginny volunteered her room for her new sister. She watched in awe as Mrs. Weasley transfigured her old purple wallpaper into pink wallpaper with little bunnies and rainbows. "That's sick," Fred commented, sticking his head in the room. 

Ron shut himself in his top floor room, intending to write a letter to Hermione. Then he realized that all his belongings were in his trunk. He ran downstairs to look for a spare sheet of parchment and a quill. 

Ron was rummaging through a drawer in the kitchen, when his brothers and father returned with their trunks. "Oh good, I want to write to my friends," Ron said. He tried to lift the trunk, only to drop it on his toes. "Ouch." 

Charlie laughed. He pulled out his wand, then made the trunks feather light, floating them to their respective rooms. Percy hurried up to his room to write letters to the ministry, and Mr. Weasley went up to Ginny's room to help his wife. 

"Ron, don't tell mum or dad, but I'm going to France to see Fleur," Bill told Ron, in the now empty kitchen. 

"You mean..." Ron gasped. 

"Yeah, don't tell them, all right?" Ron nodded, completely stunned. "I know about Hermione, one word and I'm telling mum." 

"When..." he had apparated. Ron stood alone, goggling at thin air. _"Bill and Fleur..." _ After all, she _was_ only two years younger than him, and she _was_ beautiful. Ron shuttered, remembering how he'd asked Fleur to go to the Yule ball with him. He shrugged it off, and ran up to his room. 

* * * 

Dearest Hermione, 

You're never going to believe what happened; really, its too weird. We got off the train, and my entire family was there, even Bill and Charlie. They hardly ever come home! Then mum tells us she wants to have another baby! So we adopted a girl from St. Mungo's Hospital. She's a week old. Mum named her Nina, which means a well-loved daughter (pretty fitting, don't you think). It's very unusual in the Wizarding world for babies to be abandoned. The doctor told us Nina is going to be a witch, she was 100% sure. She couldn't tell us who the baby's parents were, out of privacy. She swore she was put up for adoption for a good reason. What would a good reason be?   
That's not where it ends, though. I found out that Bill is dating Fleur, remember her? He apparated to France a little while ago, but everyone's been too busy to miss him. Can you imagine?   
I hope you and Harry are all right. I promise I'll start Snape's potions homework tomorrow. I'm sure you've already finished it (just kidding, love you anyway). I miss you soooo much! 

Much love,   
Ron Weasley 

P.S. I'm sending you a signed copy of mum's book, we've got a hundred in the living room.   


Hermione neatly folded the letter and put it in her top drawer. She liked to keep all the notes Ron sent her, so she could read them when she missed him; that was always. She scribbled out a response, then tied it to Pig's leg, throwing him out the window. The tiny owl dropped twenty feet, before leveling off in the air. He began to flap his wings furiously. Hermione watched until he'd disappeared from sight, then sighed. Only six more days. 

* * * 

"WORMTAIL!" Voldemort passed the room, screaming at his servant. "Tell me again, _WHERE IS THALIA STARK?"_

"I, I don't know, she did not report to the meeting last night, she took the child." 

"I am here, my lord," a woman's voice called from the other end of the room. Thalia Stark stepped into the dimly lit hideaway, smiling. "I disposed of the baby, she's gone." 

"Where were you," screamed Voldemort. Thalia would have been worried, but she knew that she was the only one willing _and_ capable of transfiguring Voldemort's sex organs back to their original state. 

"I was properly disposing of the child, my lord," Thalia said, innocently. "She is dead and buried, would you like to have another one?" she asked as if it were a piece of candy. 

"Stupid woman! Fix me, then go. I spare your life because you disposed of that filthy thing! If you ever cross Lord Voldemort..." 

"Thank you, my lord." Thalia leaned down and kissed his feet. _Yuck_. When she finished returning Voldemort's balls (they were quite small, she noticed), Thalia apparated back to Hogwarts. _(A/N: This means she apparated as close as she could to Hogwarts-- I know you can't apparate directly into Hogwarts)_   


_Chapter Two - The Jocose Coyote_

The first thing that greeted Ron in the Gryffindor common room upon returning was Hermione Granger. She planted kisses all over his face, and almost choked him. Harry patted Ron on the back, then left him to be strangled by his girlfriend. 

When he'd finally pried her off of him, Ron flopped into his usual, well worn armchair. Hermione jumped into his lap, bombarding him with more kisses. Eyeing them, Ginny took Hermione's usual seat, seeing how she wasn't likely to need it anytime soon. 

Harry waited patiently for his friends to finish sucking face. Having finally given up, he talked to Ginny. "Congratulations on your new sister," he shouted, over the sound of kissing. 

"Thanks, Ginny called. Hermione looked up at them. She straightened out her robes, then pulled a little box out of her pocket. 

"I made this for Nina." Hermione gently handed Ginny the box. It was neatly wrapped with gold paper; a little bow attached to the top. In Hermione's perfect handwriting, the name Nina was spelled out in silver. "I meant to send it with Pig, but he kept falling down from the weight of it," Hermione explained. 

Ginny looked awkwardly at the box. The wrapping was so neat, she was afraid to open it. Hermione assured her not to worry, so Ginny began to carefully to untie the ribbon. Harry and Ron leaned forward, anticipating what was in the mysterious box. 

A small orb lay flat in Ginny's open palm. Upon first examination, it appeared to be a snow globe. Hermione showed them a switch on the bottom, which brought the orb to life. Inside, a bluish fog cleared, revealing a single coyote, sitting on a rock. Ginny pressed her nose against it, "what does it do?" 

Hermione smiled. "Give it a second," she said. Ron and Harry peered curiously at the miniature coyote in the globe. It was odd, like nothing they'd ever seen. A strange music began to play, coming from within the globe. Ginny had the sudden urge to giggle. Judging by their faces, her friends felt it too. 

"What is that," Ron wheezed. Hermione, who was bouncing in Ron's lap (because his whole body was shaking from laughter), had trouble taking the orb from Ginny's hands. Once she had a firm grip on it (which was quite difficult, she was chortling), she clicked the off switch on the orb. Immediately, they stopped laughing. 

Ron repeated the question, _"what is that?"_

"It _was_ a muggle snow globe. I charmed it to make people laugh." Harry gave her a yeah what's that mean? "It's kind of like the ultimate baby toy," Hermione further explained. _Oh._

"I think its brilliant!" exclaimed Ginny. She began to re-wrap the gift, with little luck. "Er, Hermione, _sorry_." 

Hermione shrugged, then fixed it up with magic. "No problem." Ginny suddenly remembered some holiday homework she hadn't finished. Not wanting to be the third wheel, Harry retired to the boy's dorm. 

_ Chapter Three - Midnight Allergies_

"Its just us," Ron whispered into Hermione's ear. She turned her head around, wrapping her arms around his neck. 

"Yeah, and like 30 other people," she whispered back, kissing his nose. 

"So what, we don't know them," said Ron. He brushed the back of his hand over her cheek. She tilted her face down, looking into his eyes. Ron pushed Hermione's lose hair behind her ears, resting his hand over the ear, his palm on her cheek. 

"Just because they're never mentioned in _Harry's_ books, doesn't mean _we_ don't know them," Hermione said. Taken back, Ron moved his hand away, thinking. 

"Well, I suppose it doesn't," he replied, somewhat louder. 

"Hey Weasley, hey Granger," a random Gryffindor called. 

"Hey Gloria!" waved Hermione and Ron. A few other Gryffindors passed by, and the moment was officially over. "So much for _PDA_ in the common room," sighed Hermione. She stood up, stretched and helped Ron out of the chair. 

"I'm starting to get the feeling back in my legs," he teased. Hermione shot him a glance, which he read in two ways: _Shut-up carrot head_ and _I want you now!_ Ignoring the first one, Ron proposed, "let's go somewhere else, to be alone." 

"Where?" Hermione asked. It was past curfew, and the idea of sneaking out was both wrong and exciting. Ron shrugged. "If we got caught..." Hermione said, shoving her excitement out of mind. 

"Hermione, your a prefect!" She thought about it for a moment. 

"But _your_ not," she said. Ron put his arms around her. _Do you want me or not?_ She looked way up (yes, that's how tall Ron was) and responded _Of course..._

"I'll go and see if Harry'll lend us his cloak, wait here," Ron instructed. 

"I need something too," Hermione said. "Meet you back here in five minutes," she called, running off to the girls dormitory. 

* * * 

A few moments later, Hermione emerged into the common room. She looked around; surely Ron wasn't still in his dormitory. Just as she was about to go to bed, something grabbed Hermione's shoulder, somethinginvisible; _Ron_. Hermione stretched her arms into the air behind her, touching Ron's familiar body. 

"You look silly," Ron whispered. Looking straight through him, Hermione shot him a glance. Ignoring it, he said, "you open the door, I'll follow, and then get under the cloak." Hermione nodded, then started walking. 

Once outside the portrait hole, Hermione checked the halls; the coast was clear. Ron lifted the silky cloak, then draped it over them. After sharing a tender kiss, they started walking down the halls. Unable to find a suitable abandoned room, Ron suggested the barn near Hagrid's hut. 

There was a light spring breeze over the Hogwarts grounds. Ron and Hermione walked at a brisk pace, careful not to trip over the cloak. They had nearly been caught by Filtch, while exiting the castle. Luckily, peeves thought it was a game, and begun opening doors all over the school. 

Hermione magically opened the barn door. It was locked with a muggle padlock, which could easily be opened with a simple spell. Of course, few wizards thought it necessary to learn such muggle-related charms. 

Ron whispered _"lumos_," under the cloak, which dimly lit the barn. He pulled off the invisibility cloak, stuffing it into his pocket. There were about twenty hippogriffs in large stalls in the enormous barn. They all appeared to be sleeping. 

Lighting her own wand, Hermione lead Ron to a large pile of hay in the corner. It was a little chili and they were both shivering. Hermione conjured a dozen floating candles, then charmed them to give off extra heat. Soon, she and Ron were very cozy in the hay; they became lost in each other. 

* * * 

Twenty minutes later, Ron and Hermione separated for some much-needed air. Hermione dug through her pockets for some Chapstick. After applying it, Ron whispered urgently "what kind is that?" 

"Cherry, why?" Hermione responded. 

_"Cherry!_" Ron exclaimed, a little too loud. A few hippogriffs woke, and started walking around their stalls. 

"Keep it down!" Hermione hissed. Ron was staring at her wide-eyed. "What?" she said. 

"Hermione, I'm allergic to cherries! Tell me you haven't been wearing that all night," he asked desperately. 

"I have, I'm sorry," Hermione said. She was about to ask what happened when Ron ate cherries, but a loud hippogriff started screeching. "They're not supposed to do that," Hermione said, pulling herself out of the hay. "Hagrid's going to come out here if we don't do something!" 

The loud hippogriff was in the last stall. Hermione frantically put a silencing charm on it, but it was too late. The barn door slammed open. "Show yourself!" Hagrid shouted. His voice was almost unrecognizable without its gentleness. 

Ron and Hermione froze. Heart racing, Hermione squeaked "its Hermione and Ron." Hagrid, who had been running across the barn, stopped. 

_"Hermione? _What are you doing down here?" The gentleness partly returned to his voice. 

_"Lumos_," Hermione whispered. Despite the silencing charm, they could now see the hippogriff running around its chamber kicking and snorting. Hagrid immediately ran over to it, extremely worried. "What's wrong with it?" Hermione asked. 

"I think it got rabies," answered Hagrid. He temporarily forgot that they were breaking school rules, and was about to ask Ron to get Madam Pomfrey, then stopped. "What happened to your face Ron?" 

Hermione shone her wand light on her boyfriend. His face and arms were covered in hives. Having noticed them, Ron began to frantically scratch at them. "Don't do that," advised Hermione. She quickly performed an anti-itching charm, reliving Ron of the pain. 

_Chapter Four – England vs. America_

The next weekend, Mrs. Weasley nervously checked the clock. Percy and Mr. Weasley were still at work. _Blasted_, she thought. Percy had promised to be home by 7 to watch Nina. Molly had an appointment with an American editor in ten minutes. 

The baby in Molly's arms was squirming. She gently placed Nina on the couch, giving her a stuffed bunny to cuddle with. Immediately, Nina fell back asleep, but for how long? In her book, Mrs. Weasley spoke strongly against sleeping charms; she didn't want to be a hypocrite in front of the American editor. She had no other choice but to look after the child during the meeting. 

A few minutes later, two figures apparated into the Weasley's living room. One was a middle-aged woman, the other a teenage girl. Both were wearing muggle clothes. The woman wore a simple dress suite, her wand sticking out of the pocket. The girl, on the other hand, was wearing some type of shorts and a tank top. The shorts were too long to be shorts, but too short to be pants. In Molly's opinion, they were too tight to be either. The tank top was low cut, and had the words Abercrombie and Fitch plastered across the chest. She wore two-inch platform sandals on her feet. 

"Molly Weasley?" the woman asked, in a heavy American accent. "I'm Shannon Gales," she said pushing out her hand. Molly nodded, taking the hand. This is my daughter, Heather," Shannon said, having finally let go of Molly's hand. 

"Nice to meet you, Heather," Molly replied. Heather, who was loudly chewing gum, smiled at Mrs. Weasley. It was apparent that she would have rather been anywhere but there. 

"I'm really sorry," Ms. Evans said. "Its Memorial Day weekend, and I didn't want to leave Heather alone at home, she's underage and all." Molly nodded, though confused. 

"My underage children are at Hogwarts," she said. "Well, most of them," she added. She was referring to Nina, who was still fast asleep on the sofa. "Have a seat," she said. 

Shannon and Heather seated themselves across from Molly. "I've read your book," Ms. Evans said. "Oh, it was brilliant! Only wished I'd had it raising Heather," she said. Molly had trouble keeping up with the American woman's language. It was so unfamiliar. 

After discussing some of the most boring issues, Nina began to whale. Molly, being in a similar situation as the editor (having to bring a child to the meeting), wasn't as worried as before. "My son Percy, who is a bit of a workaholic, was supposed to be home to watch her," she explained. Shannon nodded, understandingly. 

"My x-husband was supposed to take Heather. It's an American holiday, that's why she's home this weekend from school. Anyway, he pulled out at the last second." 

Heather rolled her eyes. "Mom, I'm fifteen, I can look after myself!" 

"Oh no you can't!" Shannon exclaimed. It's a good thing I intercepted those party invitations you were owling your friends last night. Heather opened her mouth to scream back at her mother, but Mrs. Weasley interrupted. 

"Heather, dear," she said calmly. The girl turned to stare at Mrs. Weasley. "Could I ask you to do a favor and watch Nina, that way your mother and I can work." 

Delighted, Heather said "oh! I love babies!" 

Shannon looked skeptical. "She'd have one if she could," muttered Ms. Evans. 

"Mom!" Heather screamed. 

"She's only fifteen," said Ms. Evans, hoping to change Molly's mind. 

Seeing how they were not going to get any work done until Heather Evans left, Molly convinced the girl's mother that they would be all right. She set up a bath for Nina, leaving Heather there to attend to it, then returned to the living room. 

"Hey little babe," Heather said. Nina splashed the water on her, giggling. She was _so_ cute! "You should meet my boyfriend, Steve, he's a total _hotty"_ she told the baby. Using the side of the tub, Nina pulled herself into a somewhat standing position. Reaching in, Heather lifted her out of the warm water. 

"Look at you, you're cute as a button!" Heather exclaimed. She put the naked baby on the changing table, pulling out her wand. Nina reached out for it. "No, you can't have it," Heather cooed in baby talk. Nina frantically reached out with her arms and legs, exposing her bare bottom. 

"The British are mooning! The British are mooning!" Heather joked. Nina giggled, which made Heather melt. "Aw" she sighed. Nina's dark brown eyes danced upon Heather's wand. _What's the harm_, she told herself. Heather lowered her wand arm, and Nina grabbed it. 

"Come on babe," Heather pleaded. She was having second thoughts about giving a baby a wand. Nina had practically glued her tiny fingers to the wood, the way only a baby could do. 

Desperate, Heather yanked at the wand with both all her might. Just as it was coming lose, jets of blue light shot out the end, straight for her foot. _"Ouch_!" she screamed. Ms. Evans came running up the stairs, Mrs. Weasley apparated there. 

Scared for her baby, Mrs. Weasley was shocked to see Nina giggling on the changing table. Instead, Heather was doubled over, holding onto her foot. _"My toe!"_ she shouted. 

Ms. Evans ran into the bathroom. "Heather!" she screamed. She pulled out her wand and numbed her foot. Heather stopped screaming, and let go of her foot. She clapped her hand over her mouth. One of Heather's toes was missing. 

"Can she apparate?" Molly asked. Heather nodded weakly. Shannon was sobbing. Trying not to puke, Molly commanded them to "apparate to St. Mungo's hospital, all right? They nodded. Molly scooped up her naked baby, a pair of pajamas and apparated after them.   


_Chapter Five – Ron's Rueful Code_

Hermione was studying 24/7 for the O.W.L.'s. Ron saw very little of his girlfriend the last few months of school. Even after the test, Hermione was sure she'd fail. She'd storm into the common room, muttering about question 12A, then run back to the library to look up up the answer. Ron couldn't even remember what question 12A was. 

When the results finally came back at the beginning of June, Hermione got the highest marks of all the fifth years. In fact, she'd gotten the highest O.W.L.'s in 50 years! Hermione finally relaxed, spending all her free time with Ron. 

Most of the school was at a Ravenclaw vs. Slytherin Quidditch game. Hermione and Ron were sitting under a tall shady tree on a lawn behind the school. The lake wasn't far off, and Hermione had thrown away her cherry Chapstick. 

Finally pulling out of a long kiss, Hermione whispered "what are we going to do without each other all summer?" Ron stroked her hair. 

"Come and visit me," he said. "I don't think I can live three months without you! Stupid baby'll probably keep us up all night, not to mention Fred and George, they're going to be brewing their joke candy all summer! I'll have dad attach your house to the floo-network, you can visit everyday," rambled Ron. 

"Shut-up," she said lovingly. Ron leaned in, anticipating her to do the same. Instead, Hermione backed away. "Could you really do that?" Ron pulled back, confused. "Attach us to the floo-network, I mean." He nodded. "That would be _grand_!" 

"Shut-up," mocked Ron. Hermione wanted to slap him, but before she could, he kissed her. The afternoon faded away. The sky turned brilliant shades of orange, red, purple and pink. Ron and Hermione held hands, watching the sun set. 

"I could stand here forever," Hermione whispered. 

"I couldn't," Ron said. 

"You're romantic," said Hermione sarcastically. 

"Ani rotzah lalechet le beit shimoosh," muttered Ron. 

Hermione laughed. "What's _that_ _one_ mean?" she asked. Since she'd started dating Ron, earlier in the year, Hermione had heard quite a number of Weasley codes. They were all somewhat sexual, which was why he'd never mentioned them before. 

"It means I have to go to the bathroom," Ron said. Hermione stopped laughing. 

"You're kidding," she said. He shook his head. "That's not funny. Was it one of Charlie's codes?" His head shook. "It couldn't have been Bill's, they're hysterical," Hermione said. "Fred or George?" _No_. "Percy?" _NO!_ "It was your!" Hermione concluded. Ron turned crimson. 

"Charlie gave me his old Hebrew/English transliteration book over the holiday. He told me to write five before the end of the year." 

Hermione laughed. "You need help, don't you?" she asked. Ron nodded his head, pulling out a worn out book from his bag. Hermione sat on the damp grass, opening the book. Ron looked awkwardly at the ground. "I really _do_ have to go to the bathroom."   


_Ok, so does Ron get to go to the bathroom?? Find out in the next part..._

_Just kidding! The next part starts out with a little cliché I'm writing, where thirteen years go by. It'll be my first ever cliché, so bear with me! Oh yeah, please review, I love reading them. If you do, I promise I'll check out your work if your a signed reader. Especially if your a METMA member, I love hearing from you guys. Thanks again to Mandy, she really started the whole METMA thing. Here's her [webpage][2]. Here's mine: [Juliette's FanFic Page][3]_   
  


   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/index.fic?action=story-read&storyid=157412
   [2]: http://www.geocities.com/cho86_uk/METMA.html?978334263600
   [3]: http://mypage.goplay.com/hpfanfic/



	3. The Weasleys and The Devil's Child - 3

A/N: Its about 12:45AM right now, I'm only staying up to post this because I'm leaving tomorrow to go skiing, and I want to post this before I leave. I think this part is really good, its not really rated PG-13 like the other parts. Like I said in the last part, there's a cliché at the beginning. I really don't know if its any good, please tell me in the review. If you want to read [parts I and II click here.][1]   
P.S. I was too tired to add all the italics that were really there. Use your imagination . ~Juliette   


**The NEW challenge: (week of 1/7/01)******

**-Someone has to say, "I'm NOT a clock!"******

**-Someone must say: "Z'yanta parah" which is hebrew for "He f*cked a cow" :)******

**-There must be someone with a prosthesis (which is a fake limb)******

**-A crazy bludger must be present******

**-Someone must believe that they are a talk show host. but...they can't be actually AT a talk show.******

**-Someone must say "I love Voldemort" BUT--they can't be a death eater, death eater sympathizer, AND it can't be sarcastic! (I know that IS hard...)******

**-Hermione has to wear a Metallica shirt.******

**And finally,**   
**-It has to be funny. At least semi-funny! :-)**   


**Part Three**

_ Chapter One - A Baker's Dozen_

This isn't a Harry Potter story. In fact, Harry plays a most minute role in it. This is the story of The Weasleys and their Devli's child (duh, its the name!). So when thirteen years pass, and some random fanfic reader, let's just call her Mandy (no connection to METMA...) asks, what ever happened to Harry Potter? I ask, whatever happened to Ernie Prang? (Now I know a couple of you are grabbing for you HP books to find Ernie, so I'll tell you he's the knight bus driver.) 

Now don't get me wrong, Harry is not that unimportant. For the sake of this story, let's just say that Harry fails to kill Voldemort, but returns him to his less-than-human state, more or less saving the world again (all hail Lord Potter). Let's leave it up to J.K. to write in the details, (not to mention make millions of dollars for it). 

More important to the story are the Weasleys. Let's begin from the top. Bill marries Fleur, then moved to France to start a family, giving up his Gringots job. Charlie still lives in Romania, working with dragons. Percy marries Penelope Clearwater. Supported by his ministry job, they move not too far from The Borrow. Fred and George start a joke shop, which is a large success. They move into the flat above the store (to their parents relief). Ron marries Hermione (no big surprises there), J.K. will write in their jobs; they're really unimportant to me. Ginny falls in love with a Hufflepuff who was in the same year as her at school; he is never mentioned in the HP books. They are getting married in July. The remaining three Weasleys, Molly, Arthur and Nina still live in The Borrow. 

Molly and Arthur adore their daughter, secretly believing that their eighth child turned out the best. Molly wrote several sequels to her book, Mrs. Weasley's guide to Pregnancy, (in chronological order): Mrs. Weasley's guide to Mysterious Babies, Mrs. Weasley's Guide to Raising Magical Kids, Mrs. Weasley's Guide to Twins (double trouble), Mrs. Weasley and The Adoption Option and Mrs. Weasley Discusses How Many is Too Many? 

So, now you're saying I really care about Mrs. Weasley, get on with it! Ok, Mandy, hold your horses. Yes, as you may have guessed, Thalia Stark did go back to the "good" side. She sought refuge from Dumbeldore, and (somehow) played a large role in bringing Voldemort down (again). She doublecrossed him, but never got caught. Dr. Stark isn't that good though; she remains the only person who knows who the Weasley's really adopted. 

Finally, on to Nina. She is in her third year at Hogwarts, top of her class. Why year three? asks Mandy. I shrug, why not? Seriously, NO MORE QUESTIONS! (Waits a few seconds, then continues). The main reason why Nina is in her third year of Hogwarts is because nothing major happens in her first two. 

The only important thing to happen in Nina's first year was the sorting. All right, I know what your thinking: Gryffindor = good, Slytherin = bad. NO, NO & NO! Yes, Nina is placed in Gryffindor, but that doesn't mean she is a saint. Not to go into gory details, the sorting hat had a hard time placing her. It took a record long time, (10 minutes) to place her in Gryffindor. 

On to the story… 

_ Chapter Two – Ron's Pet Peeve_

Nina Weasley emerged from the Hogwarts Express; she pushed her way through throngs of students. Her family was as easy to spot in a crowd as a Hagrid; across the crowded train platform. She set a course to toward the eight flaming redheaded witches and wizards waving at her. 

Molly Weasley embraced her youngest daughter, barely letting her breathe. After quick hugs from her brothers and sisters, (including sister in laws Hermione and Fluer), they set off for the Borrow. Percy, of course, hadn't been able to make it; he had too much work at the Ministry. 

Being the only one not able to apparate, Arthur Weasley had driven his new BMW to Kings Cross Station to pick up his daughter for the winter vacation. Ron and his wife, Hermione came along for the ride. Molly and the rest of her children (and children in law) apparated back to the Burrow from the platform. 

The car ride was long and fun. Ron and Hermione eagerly shared stories from their three week holiday in America. They described all the famous wizard and muggle landmarks they'd visited, including New York, LA and Boston. 

Nina listened assiduously as Hermione depicted their visit to Salem, Massachusetts. Besides being the sight of the witchcraft trials of 1692, but also hosts the largest American wizarding village, similar to England's Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade Village. 

"Oh that was boring," Ron groaned. He was sitting in the front of the car, completely turned around to talk to his sister. "The muggle concert was much more interesting," he informed Nina." 

"Really?" Nina leaned forward, feeling the tug of her safety belt. "Stupid muggle thing," she muttered. "What muggle concert?" 

Hermione rolled her eyes at her husband. Ignoring her stabbing glaze, Ron described in full colour (A/N: Oh yeah, I'm British – lol!) the Metallica concert they'd attended in New York. 

"Metallica," Nina stupidly repeated. She'd never heard of such a band; she'd never heard of any muggle band, for that matter. "Are there others?" Nina asked 

"Oh, loads," Ron replied. Showing off, he ticked off the muggle bands he knew. "Metallica, Green Day, Korn, Limpbizket… Damn-it!" 

"Wha…" Nina looked at her brother surprised. 

"Every damn time…" he muttered. Hermione gave him a wicked look; she obviously was more clued in on what was bothering Ron. 

"Ron, it's just the way we are, you can't change it," she said, worriedly. 

"I don't care!" Ron shouted. "Stupid magic, can't even fix fingers!" 

"What!" Nina screamed. 

"Ron can't stand when he bends his ring finger, and his pinky follows," explained Hermione. 

Nina giggled. _"That's_ your pet peeve Ron?" Ron turned crimson (a Weasley trait, which Nina was glad to not poses). 

"Anyway," Hermione said, ignoring her husband. "There are a lot of great bands which aren't hard rock." She counted off a few on her fingers, letting her pinky follow her ring finger as she went along. This made Ron cringe. "Well there's the Dave Matthews Band, Guster, The Barnaked ladies…" 

"The Barnaked Ladies?" giggled Nina. She honestly thought they were making up the names to see how foolish she was. 

"No, in all seriousness!" chuckled Hermione. "They're not naked and they're not ladies, but they're a great band!" Ron rolled his eyes, he preferred Metallica to BNL any day. 

"How do they make the music loud enough for all the muggles to hear?" asked Nina. 

"They have microphones and amps," replied Hermione knowledgeably. 

Mr. Weasley suddenly turned around, ignoring his driving duties. "Really? Do they have plugs?" he asked excited. 

"Dad!" Nina cried. Mr. Weasley ignored her. Desperate, Ron leaned across the front seat, grabbing hold of the wheel. 

"Relax," Arthur sighed. Terrified, Nina and Hermione gave him awkward stares. Neither knew how to relax when they were in a moving car without a driver. "Its charmed to steer itself," explained Arthur. 

"Really?" inquired Hermione. "Brilliant," she muttered. 

"Dad, isn't that _illegal_?" Nina asked. Mr. Weasley turned his head, slightly ashamed. What would Mrs. Weasley think if she knew he'd bewitched the car? He'd promised her repeated times that he wouldn't touch it with magic, only to break his word. Muggle driving was quite a pane which most witches and wizards tended to avoid. Besides being slower than apparating, floo powder or port keys, driving was far more dangerous. 

"I should tell mum!" Nina said. 

"Why tell mum?" Ron asked. "It's not a flying car. The ministry wouldn't mind as long as it looked like you were driving." 

Mr. Weasley turned around. They were driving quite fast on a huge bypass, getting funny stares from passing cars. ""Z'yanta parah"," muttered Arthur. 

"What's that mean, dad?" asked Nina. She leaned forward in her seat, once again pulling on the safety belt. "Was that one of the Weasley codes I'm not supposed to know about?" 

"How do you know about those?" asked Ron. 

"Ginny told me," replied Nina. 

"Well that one isn't clean, you wouldn't want to know what it meant?" Hermione said. 

"You know what that meant?" asked Ron. 

"I never told you this, but when I was helping you write them, I picked up the Hebrew language. I had an Israeli pen-pal during the summer after our fifth year." 

"Really?" asked Ron. "Hey! Would that pen-pal happen to have been a wizard?" he asked, sternly. 

Hermione giggled. "No, her name was Efrona." Ron turned slightly red, as Hermione gave him a reassuring peck on the nose.__

_ Chapter Three – Someone Gets Caught…_

The Borrow was a magnificent place. Despite their wealth, The Weasleys were too attached to their house to move. Many more rooms were added as extensions. Each of the Weasleys had his/her own room, even though only one child remained at home. 

As they entered the house, their noses were met with extraordinary smells. Mrs. Weasley and the Weasley's paid house elf, Paige, were cooking a huge welcome home dinner. Mrs. Weasley wiped her hands on a dirty apron and ran over to hug her daughter. 

"Mum!" screamed Nina. The plump woman planted a huge kiss on her daughter's cheek. 

"I was so worried!" Mrs. Weasley said. "You took so long, dinner's almost ready!" 

"There was traffic on the bypass," explained Mr. Weasley. 

"You mean, Arthur Weasley, you didn't make that car fly?" asked Mrs. Weasley, surprised. 

_"Fly?"_ Mr. Weasley asked, as if the mere idea was ludicrous. 

Molly put her hands on her hips. "All right, dinner will be ready in twenty minutes, go wash up, all of you!" Mr. Weasley, Nina, Ron and Hermione marched upstairs get ready. That left Mrs. Weasley and Paige in the kitchen to put finishing touches on the huge dinner. 

"Where is Percy?" muttered Molly. He had supposed to apparated to Kings Cross Station to meet his sister, nearly three hours ago. Checking the clock over the mantel, the name Percy pointed to work. Mrs. Weasley stared at a couple more seconds, her mouth turning down into a frown. She would have to go to the Ministry and get Percy herself. 

Before leaving, Mrs. Weasley removed her dirty apron and examined herself in the mirror. There was flower powdered in Molly's hair, and food stains on her robes that had managed to miss the apron. "You're a mess, go change!" The mirror shouted. Ignoring it, Molly tried to dust off her robes as much as she could. 

"Mrs. Weasley, madam," Paige panted. She came running into the living room. 

"Yes, Paige?" The small house elf looked like a mini Mrs. Weasley, in that she was covered in food. 

"Dinner," she said. What? "Dinner is to be in fifteen minutes, madam. _You can't leave."_

"Paige, finish setting up the tables, I'll be back in ten minutes, I promise." The small elf looked devistated, but obeyed. After she'd disapeared back into the kitchen, Mrs. Weasley rechecked herself in the mirror. "What time is it anyway?" she mumbled. 

"I am not a clock!" screamed the mirror. Taken back, Mrs. Weasley apparated. She felt the familiar feeling of floating, and carefully concentrated on her son's office in the Ministry. Just as she had once stood in her own living room, Mrs. Weasley now stood in the huge head of department suite. 

What met Mrs. Weasley's eyes she would not soon forget. There, on his desk, were two people. "Percy Weasley!" Molly shouted. The 30-year-old man sat up. 

_"Mum!"_ The girl below Percy rolled onto the floor. She was Penelope Clearwater, Percy's wife. Molly had never seen two people so red, especially her son. 

Realizing that she was intruding in something legal (besides being in his office, it was ok because they were married), Mrs. Weasley became embarrassed herself. "I'm sorry," she stammered. 

"Molly," coaxed Penelope. She stepped forward, pulling the creases out of her beautiful lavender robes. "I came to get Percy, you know how he's attached to his work," she said. 

Molly nodded her head. "You were supposed to meet your sister at Kings Cross three hours ago," she scorned. 

"Mum! I forgot!" Percy answered, honestly. He hopped off the desk, replaced a few books onto it and announced that he'd be home in five minutes, and to go on without him. Mrs. Weasley left, leaving her grown up son with his wife. 

Chapter Four – Bill and Fleur's surprise 

Dinner that night was amazing. Even with fourteen people, (Ginny's fiancé, Scott came) there was too much food. Nina sat in the middle of the table, Ginny on one side of her and Hermione on the other. Hermione wore a muggle t-shirt that had the word Metallica plastered across the bust. Ron, who sat on her other side, had a similar one. The twins and Charlie sat across, being the only single men in the family. 

Bill and Fleur were seated at one end, whispering and feeding each other, which made Nina sick. Her three married siblings all acted extremely different around their wives. Bill was very touchy, which was unlike him. He and Fleur kissed a lot, which must have been a French thing to do; no one else did it. Ron and Hermione teased one another, but showed obvious love for each other. Percy and Penelope were eating silently, on the oppiste side of the table from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. She wasn't sure why, but Nina thought that they were avoiding each other. 

Halfway through dinner, Fleur stood up, letting her sheer blond hair cascade over her shoulders. Immediately, she caught the attention of the entire Weasley family. "We 'ave something to tell you," she said in a light French accent. Bill stood and put his hand on his wife's shoulder. He bent down, whispering something into her ear. She nodded. 

"Spit it out, Bill," Fred said. Mrs. Weasley shot him a glance, then motioned for Bill and Fleur to hurry up. 

"We wanted to tell you at Christmas, but this seemed like just as good a time," said Bill. Fleur looked up, giving him a veela smile, then spoke gently. 

"We are to have a baby soon," she said. All at once, everyone shot out of their seats, going to congratulate them. Mrs. Weasley had tears streaming down her face. 

"I love babies," she cried. 

"We know," said George. 

"George!" scolded Mrs. Weasley, in-between sobs. She wiped the tears from her cheeks, then hugged Fleur. The rest of the family did too. "How long?" Molly asked. 

"Almost two montz," answered Fleur. She did not appear to be pregnant yet. Finally, they sat down and finished dinner. 

Mrs. Weasley told the story of Nina blasting off the American editor's daughter's toe for the zillionth time that night. Only Scott hadn't heard it. None the less, they all got a good laugh from the baby story. Nina was excited to have a future niece or nephew. 

When dinner had finished, Mrs. Weasley pulled several pies out of the oven. There was apple, blueberry and pumpkin. Nina took a slice of each, despite being so full she felt like bursting. The grownups (they were everyone besides Nina) had been drinking all night, and it was apparent that Ron and Hermione were the drunkest. 

The couple was now describing a muggle talk show called the Jerry Springer show that they'd watched in a hotel room. Ron pretended to be the man called Jerry, asking Hermione if she had something to tell Fred. Drunk, Hermione replied 'yes.' She said she'd been cheating on him with George. The twins burst out laughing, Fred hickuped loudly. 

"That's enough!" screamed Mrs. Weasley. "Your drunk! Go to bed!" 

"I'm not drunk, mum." George tried to get up, only to fall back into the sofa. Nina, being the only fully sober one (besides Fleur… never drink when your pregnant!) there had to help Ron and Hermione up to their room, her parents helping the rest. 

Nina opened her bedroom door, finding Paige adding logs to the fire. "Thanks," she said. Paige was unlike most house elves. It is in her blood to be obedient and invisible to humans, but Paige did not fully follow her genes. She was the daughter of the elves Dobby and Winky, and worked for pay. Paige was one of Nina's earliest friends. 

"Ms. Weasley, how is Hogwarts?" the elf asked. 

"Sit down," said Nina. Paige jumped onto the bed, fluffed a pillow then sat on it. "Hogwarts is great, we're going to win the house cup again," she told Paige. 

"OH!" squealed the elf. "Have you seen Dobby and Winky?" she asked. Nina nodded. The two elves visited her constantly. Nina yawned, sitting down on the foot of her bed. "Is Nina, Ms. tired?" Nina felt her eyes droop, but she shook her head. The elf bounced off the bed, re-fluffed the pillow and disappeared. 

Nina changed into night robes, brushed her teeth then settled into bed. She felt her eyes close and immediately fell asleep. For the first time in her life, she had a bad dream… 

Chapter Five – The End of the Beginning 

Nina couldn't find herself. She was witnessing her dream without a body, sort of like a movie. She was in a dim room. Its shelves were lined with all sorts of potions; more than Snape's office. For an uncalculated amount of time, there was no one in the room. Suddenly, a man entered from a side door. Nina couldn't recognize him. 

The man wore long black robes, which swooshed behind him. He had dark eyes and hair, and an evilness to him. Had Nina had a body, she would have shivered. A small man entered the room, bent down and kissed the hem of his robes. 

"Master, Dr. Stark will be here soon to perform the operation." The man called master flicked his wand, sending jet of red light dangerously close to the small man. "I will gg… go get her," he stuttered. He apparated, leaving the master pacing the dimly lit room. 

A little while later, the small man returned with a woman. "My lord, are you ready?" she asked timidly. 

"Get on with it woman!" the lord shouted. 

The woman pulled a wand from her pocket, pointed it at a nasty looking, well beat up wooden chair, whispered something and transfigured it into a hospital bed. The lord sat on it, awaiting the procedure. 

"Stark," the small man said. The woman called Stark followed him to the other corner. Nina's non-existent body followed them. "I love Voldemort," the man said, "and if you do something to him…" 

"Shut your mouth, Peter, "the woman snapped. "What are you going to do? Turn into a rat and attach me?" The man, Peter pointed a strange hand at her. 

"Do you know what this is?" He spoke more bravely away from his lord's presence. The woman, Stark, gulped. 

"It is a prosthesis," she said, with apparent medical knowledge. 

"No," replied the small man, Peter. "It is a prosthesis, but it is also much more than a prosthesis." The woman nodded. 

"Wormtail!" hollered the lord. 

"Yes master?" Peter Wormtail said. Nina assumed it was his name. He scurried across the room, the woman following him. She took out her wand and began reciting unfamiliar charms, while Peter Wormtail prepared several potions. 

After several hours, the woman said, "it is complete master, it will take nine months." The lord's black eyes flashed at her. 

"Go," he said. "Come back when I call for you. If you disobey me, I will have you killed like the mudbloods." 

* * * 

Nina Weasley did not shoot up in bed in a cold sweat. When she did awake, she had no recollection of having had a nightmare. In fact, she felt dandy. Despite the cold December morning air, her room was quite cozy, and the smell of pancakes was coming from the kitchen. 

After breakfast, they all went out to play quidditch. Bundling up, Nina got her LightRod5000, one of the best racing broomsticks in the world. She was a chaser on the Gryffindor house team, and hoped to be the new captain in her fourth year. 

As a joke, Fred and George set a crazy bludger on her, which forced Nina to do a series of amazing dives and twists. Hermione held what she called a muggle video camera. She taped them playing, replaying the footage later. Mr. Weasley was amazed at the technology, mainly the batteries that ran it. 

Nina went to bed that night feeling as though she had the perfect life. She had a loving family that would soon expand, many friends at school, a spot on the best house quidditch team and best of all it was only a week till Christmas. Little did she know that her self knowledge would soon be turned upside down…   


OK.. Here's the deal. I want to make this series only four or five parts, so it'll be done with in a week or two. The next part will be up next weekend, if not later. I have finals next week, and two the monday following. I know... it really sucks. I'm also re-doing my [webpage][2], which is taking forever. Ontop of that, I'm going skiing for the rest of this three day vacation. METMA people... please review, or email me, or both. I truely love hearing from you guys. Everyone else, join METMA or review, or both. C-ya ~Juliette 

   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/index.fic?action=story-read&storyid=167189
   [2]: http://mypage.goplay.com/hpfanfic/



	4. The Weasleys and The Devil's Child - 4

A/N: YEAH! I finally got the challenge up _before_ the weekend! I hope you guys really enjoy this part, I put a lot of work into it. Before you continue, make sure you've read the [first three parts which are located here.][1] Part four is the most sexual and really deserves the PG-13 rating. If this will offend you, please don't read on. Don't forget to review! I really didn't get very many in Part Three 

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and everything to do with the books and the story. Dianna Ross owns Upsidedown (you'll see where this song comes in). Ok, onto the good stuff... 

The new challenge (1-15-00)   
-Someone must have a "wizard" cold   
-A dictionary has to fall out of the sky   
-Someone has to say "Atah Rotzeh Ani" which means "You want me" in Hebrew.   
-A character's feet must smell bad (ew)   
-It must be funny (This is probably why I shouldn't win)   
-A lizard has to be present at least once   
-ron's broken wand must be mentioned. (Because what DID happen to it?) 

**Part Four**

_Chapter One – 'Twas The Night Before Christmas..._

Nina Weasley sat cross-legged on top of her fluffy comforter. It was nearly 11:30 on Christmas Eve, and she was anticipating the next morning. Two small blue flamed candles in delicate porcelain holders floated a foot above the bed, in front of her. They swung lazily around a small area, never moving too far away. 

Outside, snow was falling from the empyrean toward the earth, eliminating the frigid, still darkness with a blur of white powder. Her eyes followed the haze of ice crystals as they danced about the night sky, descending to he ground. 

"Ms. Nina." Nina was pulled from her hypnotic state. 

"Hmm," sighed Nina, not removing her gaze from her attic window. Paige, the house elf jumped onto her bed. He short legs barely ran over the edge, remaining several feet above the ground. 

"Ms. Nina should go to bed," she said crossly. 

"Isn't it lovely," she replied, ignoring the demand. Paige glanced at the snow, quite frightened. 

"It is cold, Ms. Nina," she stuttered, seemingly offended that one could call the blizzard lovely. 

"Each flake is so unique with its own history and personality," stated Nina. She was more speaking to her self than to the frightened elf. 

"I can not understand," squeaked the elf. "Paige must sleep, for Christmas is tomorrow, Ms. Nina." She made the jump from the edge of the bed, which relative to her size was enormous. Nina faired her goodbye, giving Paige an early 'Merry Christmas!' 

Nina wasn't sure what she meant by her earlier statement. Sure, each flake was geometrically arranged in a unique way, which was quite beautiful, but what could she mean by history and personality? Perhaps snow flakes were people who had lived their lives through, now supplying those who hadn't with the most essential basic need: water. I've gone mad, she thought. 

The flakes settled onto the outside of Nina's sill, the humidity fogging the pane. Staring wide-eyed out the window, Nina thought of several clever anti-fogging charms, wishing that students could use magic during the holidays. 

The soft sound of whispering and laughing filled her drowsy mind. Nina lay her head on her pillow, wrapping herself into the comforters, letting her eyes fall shut. Somewhere below, her siblings were with their loved ones, which didn't nauseate Nina at all. Christmas was coming… 

* * * 

Ron and Hermione Weasley finished finger feeding each other chocolate covered strawberries. Ever since Ron had discovered his wife's fluency in Hebrew, it became practically the only language they spoke to each other in. 

[In Hebrew:] 

Ron: _"You like my strawberries?"_

Hermione: _"You know I do!"_

Ron:_ "You want to lick them?"_

Hermione: _"Yes, yum…"_

Ron:_ "Come to me!"_

Not the least bit shy, Hermione pulled her husband into her arms, kissing him deeply. After a few brief moments, before things got too heavy, she pulled away. Ron pulled at her arm as she got out of bed. 

"Where are you going?" he pleaded. Hermione shot him a familiar look, which meant 'shut up, I'm coming back.' She retrieved her wand off the night table, performed a simple sound proofing spell and magically locked the door. 

"Atah Rotzeh Ani?" _(You want me?)_, teased Hermione. Ron only stared at her, his face rapidly turning red. Without a sound, Hermione skillfully stepped out of her night robes, her bare skin meeting the chill. Wand still at hand, she summoned a dozen candles around the bed, then crawled back into it. 

_Chapter Two – Fred and George's Stupid Gag_

The rising sun did not bring the end to the blistering cold and falling snow. Rays of light reflected off the growing two feet of snow, burning Nina's eyes as she opened them. She patiently waited for them to adjust, not wanting to move from her warm bed. 

Then again, inviting and familiar smells were filling Nina's room, and she willed herself out of bed. A toasty fire blazed in the fireplace; no doubt made by Paige. Suddenly, Nina recalled the night before, it had been Christmas Eve. Seeing how it was the day after, it was Christmas! 

After throwing on flattering teal dress robes a matching shawl and slippers, Nina scurried down to the living room. A 12-foot Christmas tree took up nearly a quarter of the room. Underneath were dozens of wrapped boxes in all sizes. 

"Morning," chirped Hermione. She was already seated on one of the sofas, waiting for the rest of the family to come down for the traditional unwrapping. Ron's head was resting on her shoulder, quiet snores escaping his nose. "Oh he's just a little zonked out," explained Hermione. 

Nina nodded, "men." They both giggled a little too loudly. Ron shot up, then looked around dazed. Without saying a word, he curled up once more and was dreaming again in a matter of seconds. 

Within ten minutes, Fred, George and Charlie had come into the living room. Being the only single Weasleys, they were the least tired (if you know what I mean). Fred and George seemed suspiciously excited about the upcoming gifts. Nina made a mental note to open their gifts with ease. 

Ginny and Scott were the next to come in, followed by Bill and Fleur. Percy and Penelope slept walked into the cozy den a few seconds later. Only Mr. and Mrs. Weasley remained to show up. Judging by the delicious, mouth-watering smells, Molly was in the kitchen making breakfast. As if on cue, Arthur entered the living room from the hallway, just as his wife did from the opposite side. "Good, your all here," she said, running back into the kitchen. 

They exchanged puzzled looks, but immediately understood. Mrs. Weasley, aided by Paige flew thirteen trays of pancakes, toast, eggs and bacon into the room. She scolded them not to get a drop of it on the carpet, as they all dug in. 

As it turned out, it was impossible to drop food, anyway. The trays, plates, cups and food itself was charmed to float. Finding this amusing, Fred and George started a food fight. Twenty minutes later, they were grabbing bits of scrambled eggs and toast out of the air and disposing of them. Mrs. Weasley had delayed the gift opening until her living room was clean. 

Being the youngest, Nina opened her presents first. The first was a violet Weasley sweater sewn by Mrs. Weasley. It was exactly the same as the one she'd received the year before, but slightly larger for her growing bust. After a quick hug from her quite emotional mother, Nina moved on. 

The next gift was a very small gold wrapped box. Nina hated to unwrap such a gorgeous looking thing. She looked around the room, trying to see whom the box was from. Her dark eyes met Hermione's, which glowed with anticipation. It was from her. 

Nina examined the beautiful necklace in her palm. It had a slim silver chain and an oval amulet, which could slide along it. The oval charm was a deep shade of lavender, but was rapidly changing to a sea green, which perfectly matched her teal robes. Hermione jumped up, disturbing her (once again) snoozing husband. She closed the clasp around Nina's neck, explaining that the necklace would match whatever she wore. 

Nina examined herself in the mirror, and for once, it had nothing bad to say to her. Another effect that the necklace has was to beatify the rest of the wearer. Nina's hair now fell softly over her shoulders in small waves, compared to the mess it had been prior to the necklace. "Wow," she whispered. 

Charlie's gift was a dragon hide broom holder, Bill and Fleur's a box of French chocolates. Nina carefully re-closed them, saving them for the ride back to Hogwarts. Ginny's gift was a set of butterfly clips, which turned into real butterflies after a certain amount of time. 

Percy and Penelope's gift was a book entitled Do You Know WHO? It was about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, meant for younger witches and wizards who didn't know who 'he' was. With little intention in reading it, Nina politely tossed the book aside. 

The last gift labeled Nina on it was from Fred and George. Gingerly, Nina untied the messy ribbon. She tore away the paper just as carefully. Inside was a box of candy. They were labeled Weasleys' Raspberry Chocolates. There was no possible way her rouge brothers had actually made a box of ordinary chocolates, even ordinary for wizarding standards. 

Knowing that no real harm could come from it, after seeing such anticipation in her brother's eyes, Nina removed one of the bite sized candy's and popped it into her mouth. Ginny covered her ears, just incase of a loud explosion. At first, as Nina chewed the chocolate, she felt no difference. It was indeed raspberry filled, very delicious, at that. 

"Nina, your hair!" cried Mrs. Weasley. Horrified, Nina grabbed her hair. It felt all right. "Your face!" screamed Mrs. Weasley. Again, Nina made a mad grab at her face, feeling no physical difference. All but the twins gasped. They wore identical grins that stretched across their faces. 

"Go have a look," said Fred. George nodded. 

"What is it?" asked Nina, puzzled. Was this some kind of joke? Urgently trying to understand, Nina stepped in front of the mirror. 

What met her eyes was like nothing she'd ever looked like… a look which nine people she knew had. "Oh my god," she muttered. Nina no longer had long straight black hair, but thick, wavy bright red hair. Her pale face was covered in freckles, her eyes bright green. 

"You're a Weasley!" Fred exclaimed. 

"Like it?" grinned George. "It took us three months to perfect using a picture of Ginny in her third year." He pulled a battered wizarding picture from his robes. Nina examined it, she looked exactly like her older sister down to the last freckle. 

"Fred and George Weasley!" hollered Mrs. Weasley. "How long will this idiotic spell last?" 

"Only about an hour, but we've got more," replied Fred. 

"I'm ashamed of you!" Molly screamed. "You should know better than try to make your sister feel out of place in this family." 

"But mum…" started Fred. 

"Don't but mum your mother," interrupted Mr. Weasley. For once, he believed that his son's gags had gone one step too far. "Go back to your blasted shop, and don't come back till Christmas dinner," he told the twins. 

"But we only wanted Nina to know what it feels like to be a real Weasley!" screamed George. 

"She is a real Weasley!" Molly screamed at her sons. "If you ever imply that she isn't again…" 

"Mum!" Nina cried out. They stopped shouting and looked at her. Even her voice was that of an adolescent Ginny. Nina wasn't sure why, but she burst out into tears. She was not offended that her brothers had implied that she was not a Weasley; for the first time in her life, Nina wondered who she really was. 

Chapter Three – That Afternoon… 

After Fred and George had gone home, Ginny, Hermione and Fleur had come up to Nina's room to hang out. The last thing Nina wanted was a girl talk. Hermione, who always knew what to do, had obviously pepped the others not to lecture. Instead, they did up her carrot locks and waited for Nina to speak first. 

Staring in a silent mirror, Nina couldn't believe how beautiful she was. Even without the necklace, which she had placed in its box, the Weasley physical traits made her feel so much closer to her family. Two voiced in Nina's head argued over it. 

Look at you, you think you're a Weasley because you look like one? "Shut up," whispered Nina. 

"What was that, hon?" asked Hermione 

"Nothing," replied Nina. Shut up you stupid voice, I am a Weasley! Nina waited a few minutes, and when she was sure the stupid voice was gone for good, she turned her attention back to her sister and sister-in-laws. 

* * * 

In about an hour, Nina's appearance reverted to its usual form. It took a while to get used to the lightness and length of her hair again. Instead of disposing of the cherry chocolates, Nina stored them in her trunk. She told herself that if she kept them, they could be useful in pulling pranks on Slytherin, Gryffindor's opposing house. Somewhere in the back of her mind, a little voice reminded her how great it was to look like a Weasley. Shut up. 

* * * 

Mrs. Weasley called the entire family down to the kitchen around noon. She gave them sandwiches and milk, while the cooking Christmas dinner filled their nostrils, promising an even bigger meal than the welcome home one a week before. Just as they were getting up to leave, Ron's owl, Pig wrapped on the window. 

Letting in the aged bird, Hermione took the note from his leg. With her husband reading over her shoulder, she scanned the letter, delighted. "Harry is coming for dinner tonight with a friends," she announced. The Weasleys were equally excited. "He writes that his girlfriend, Clara has a wizard cold and can not make it." 

"I had one of those a few years ago," said Charlie. "Could hardly get out of bed for two weeks, and there isn't a cure or potion, just gotta wait it out." 

"Don't be ridiculous," said Percy. "There's a potion for every disease. Imagine me missing two weeks of work! The ministry would fall apart!" Penelope rolled her eyes, then nodded her head in sarcastic agreement. 

"Of course it would, honey." 

"I most certainly would think so," replied Percy, who hadn't a clue that his wife was being sarcastic. "It would," he muttered to himself again. 

Mrs. Weasley shooed them out of the kitchen, mumbling about having more guests. Her children decided to go out in the snow; the blizzard had finally stopped. So they bundled into winter cloaks, scarves, gloves, mufflers and earmuffs and set out into the fresh snow. 

Quidditch seemed like a good idea at the time, but after twenty minutes their ears were frozen and fingers too numb to hold the quaffle. Upon returning the brooms to a special shed near the house, Hermione suggested ice-skating. 

"I love to skate," said Fleur. She was rubbing her fingers inside a fluffy muffler. "In France we 'ad ice at Beauxbatons." Bill smiled at whatever his wife said; this was no exception. He put his arms around her waist, obviously feeling his unborn child. 

"How do you propose we find skates?" asked Charlie. Hermione pulled her wand from her cloak pocket. 

"I didn't break school records in Transfiguration for nothing," she replied. So they walked down to the small creek by the edge of the woods where the children swam when they were little. Using a wind spell, Ron moved the two and a half feet of snow off the ice. It was perfectly flat and clear. 

"Nina, let me see the bottom of your shoes," said Hermione. Nina sat on a three-foot pile of snow at the edge of the creek. After a few tries, Hermione successfully added a blade to the bottom of her boots. Shakily, Nina stepped onto the ice, immediately falling onto her bottom. 

In a few minutes, they all had blades on their shoes, (except for Percy who thought he was too old for such nonsense) and they continually fell. That is, all except for Fleur, who was a natural skater; she did a series of spins and jumps that looked impossible. "And this one is called a 'oop," she demonstrated the loop jump, landing it perfectly. 

"How exactly was that one different from the axle?" asked Charlie. He stared at Fleur awkwardly, trying to figure out if she was for real or not. 

"I zaid that the axle switches positions in 'ze air, and the 'oop is started on an inside edge, like this." They watched as she demonstrated again. 

"Is that good for your baby?" asked Hermione. 

"I am part veela, am I not?" replied Fleur. 

"Oh! I didn't think about that," said Hermione. Ron gave her a puzzled look. "Veela do not show any sign of pregnancy as part of their natural perfection," she explained. 

"Zat is why I am not fat," added Fleur. 

"So you can't feel the child?" asked Penelope, jealously. 

"No, I can, but not as much az another person. No harm can come to ze baby from the ice skating." 

"Do that spin thing again," said Charlie. Fleur did what she called a scratch spin, into a backspin, pulling out perfectly balanced and un-dizzy. 

"Look out!" screamed Ron. Instead of looking down, they all looked up. There, flying above the creek were Fred and George on broomsticks. They were pelting them with books. 

"OUCH!" cried Hermione. Ron tried to rush over to her, only to fall on his tokhes (Yiddish for bottom). Ron crawled across the ice, cursing his skates all the way there. "I'm okay, Ron," called Hermione across the ice. 

The twins landed wickedly in the middle of the frozen creek. "We stole your favorite books and hit you hard with them, didn't we George," said Fred. His brother nodded, smiling as widely as he could. 

That explained why Hermione was the worst hurt. She got hit in the head with a 500-page dictionary, and was now sporting a lump on her forehead, but luckily suffered no other damage. "Didn't mum send you two home," screamed Percy. He slid across the ice to wear Penelope was rubbing a similar bruise as Hermione's. 

"Oh that," shrugged George. 

"Forgot," said Fred. Before Ron could chase them, the twins mounted their brooms and flew off in the direction of their window in the house. They had probably apparated there, stolen the books and flown over to the creek to make the biggest nuisance they could. 

"When will they grow up," mumbled Percy. After they'd counted their bruises, they decided to head back to the house. Hermione removed all the skate blades, transfiguring them into snowshoes to get across the snow. This prevented them from sinking into the soft powder every time they took a step. 

_Chapter Four – Dianna Ross and the Stinky Feet_

Nina spent the afternoon curled up in her bed sleeping. After the morning's affairs, she was quite tired. Around five o'clock, Paige came to wake her. 

"Ms. Nina, get up." Groggily, Nina sat up. She stretched, letting the blood rush back into her limbs. Outside, the sun had nearly set, leaving a lingering glow of dusk. Nina wracked through her closet, frustrated. Paige made her bed, then climbed into the walk in bureau. 

"Here, Ms. Nina," she said. The pale pink robes slipped through Nina's hands as the elf handed them to her. They were made of a silk like material, which she could not name. 

Just as Nina was about to change, there was a knock at her door. It was Hermione, dressed in the most beautiful muggle dress Nina had ever laid eyes on. It fit tight around her chest and her flat belly, then flowing outward and ending in a frill of shiny material at her ankles. As she walked through the doorway, the frilly bottom swayed, making a swoosh noise. 

"Wow, that's really pretty Hermione," said Nina, who couldn't think of anything better to say. Her sister-in-law's face lit up. 

"You should see Ron, he's got a tux!" 

"A what?" asked Nina. 

"A tuxedo, its a muggle man's fancy suite." 

"Oh, I see," said Nina confusedly. "What do you think of these robes?" she asked, showing Hermione the robes Paige had picked out. 

"I don't know, try them on," replied Hermione. Nina slipped out of her sleeping dress and into the dress robes. The thin silky material clung to her skin in a way that it felt like the two were one and the same; together. "Oh! Look at you," beamed Hermione. 

Nina examined herself in front of the mirror. She had never looked so gorgeous; not even that morning when she'd turned into a 13-year-old Ginny look-alike with a beautification necklace. Where had the dress come from? 

Hermione put to finishing touches on Nina's look. Two of the butterfly clips Ginny had given her had already flown away, turned off by the cold weather. 

Ginny, who had stopped by to chat, took a closer look at the box. "Stupid thing," she muttered. "No wonder it was so cheap." 

"What?" said Nina. She thought the butterflies were adorable; too bad they didn't stick around long enough for others to see. 

"Well, let's just say you shouldn't wear them until the spring," Ginny replied. She sealed the box with her wand, and put it in Nina's trunk. 

As a final touch, Hermione attached the necklace she'd given Nina that morning, around her neck. The result of the already magnificent ensemble was, well, more magnificent. Nina twirled around the mirror, content with the world. She couldn't remember the fighting voices or her identity questions. She was Nina Weasley. 

* * * 

At seven, the entire Weasley family gathered in the living room, waiting for Harry and his unknown friend to arrive. Fred and George returned via the fireplace, wearing their old straightjackets. 

"We found them in the attic," explained Fred. 

"And this," said George, holding out his hand. 

"Hey! That's my old wand, it broke when Harry and I crashed into the whomping willow in our second years!" exclaimed Ron. He took the old wand, which was wrapped in thick layers of spello-tape. 

"What are you going to do with that?" asked Hermione suspiciously. Ron gave her a puppy-dog look, while pocketing the thing. 

"When did you have a straightjacket?" asked Nina, turning her attention back to her twin brothers. Sitting down, they launched the story of the Fall Frolic Dance in their seventh year at Hogwarts. 

"I don't remember that," said Ron. 

"That's because you were off snogging with Hermione!" They all turned around. 

"Harry!" cried Ron and Hermione, simultaneously. They jumped off the couch to hug him. 

"Who's your friend?" asked George. They all turned their attention to the attractive woman emerging from the fireplace. She was dusting ash from her hair. The girl wore long forest green robes with two inch muggle platform shoes. 

Before Harry could respond, Mrs. Weasley entered the living room from the kitchen. 

_"Molly Weasley!"_ exclaimed the girl 

Puzzled, Mrs. Weasley replied, "I'm sorry, have we met?" 

"Yes, a long time ago," said the girl. "I'm Heather Gales, my mother was one of your American editors." She was Heather Gales, the Heather Gales? "Harry you didn't tell me we were going to have dinner at the Weasleys!" 

Completely dumbfound, Harry looked from his friend to the Weasleys. Desperately, he tried to put one and one together without luck. "I'm sorry, but how in the world did you two meet?" 

"My toe…" started Heather. 

"You're the American girl Nina blasted the toe off of!" Suddenly, Harry understood. Heather nodded. She pulled her robes up a little, pointing at her toe were a thin scar was visible. 

"They did a good job putting it back on," Heather laughed. "If it weren't for that baby, I wouldn't have come to work in Britain." 

"How interesting," said Mrs. Weasley. "Dinner is ready, let's go into the dining room and discuss this over the meal." 

"Good idea mum," mumbled Nina, who was still bewildered. 

Paige and Mrs. Weasley brought out plates and plates of food. Everyone dug into the roast beef, meat loaf, and pork chops, turkey, potatoes and many other dishes that were laid in front of them. 

"So how did you two meet?" asked Mr. Weasley. He was referring to Harry and Heather. 

"Actually, that's a funny story," answered Heather. "You see, I studied to become a medi-wizard in America, and two years ago I got transferred over to St. Mungos. Harry's girlfriend, Clara and I were roommates, you see." They all nodded, listening contently. "We didn't get along very well, I'm a bit of an American princess, I'll admit that much. But you see, Clara is a bit of a British Queen herself..." Harry rolled his eyes. "Well, the point is, we didn't get along very well for a while, then Harry sorted stuff out and me and him became good friends. It's a shame she has a Medi-cold, she got it from a patient a week ago." 

"Wow, that was a mouthful," muttered George. The Weasleys gaped at Heather; having been lost in her very Americanized words a few sentences ago. 

* * * 

Dinner was rapidly coming to an end. Mrs. Weasley had tried to ensure that the family would not drink during the feast like the week before, but secretly her twin sons had spiked the apple cider they drank. Even Nina was feeling groggy. 

"Goodnight," said, nearly tripping over her chair. Heather came and gave her a huge hug. "What's that for?" asked Nina. 

"Hank-yu so, so, _so_ much for blasting my toe, babe," she said. Nina gave her an odd look. "Night, night," said Heather. 

* * * 

Heather collapsed in a sofa in the Weasleys living room. Only Fred and George Weasley and Harry Potter remained by the dying fire. The rest of the family had long since gone to bed. Harry was snoozing, barely conscious enough to speak two words. 

"Fancy a chocolate?" asked Fred innocently. Heather, who knew little of the twins' joke shop accepted. Even if she had picked up on their jokes at dinner, she was too drunk to remember. Biting into the chocolate, a slimy sensation met her tongue. 

"AH!" Heather spit into her palms a two-inch newt. "Oh my god! That's gross!" 

"You like it?" asked Fred? The newt exploded, its bits disappearing in thin air. 

"Cool," said Heather. She had trouble focusing on one thing. Fred and George's faces merged into one. They had never looked so cute. 

"You want to come up to our room?" the Fred/George face asked. Heather nodded stupidly. She let the twins help her up the stairs. 

* * * 

Neither Fred or George was drunk, but they thought they'd have a little fun with the American woman. They'd heard how easy American witches were stereotyped to be. "Music!" shouted Heather. 

"Ok, ok," said Fred. He fumbled with a radio, which was playing a Weird Sister song. George sound proofed the walls, ensuring that no one else would hear their racket. 

"Le'me," said Heather. She stumbled over a chair, straightened up and pulled out her wand. Somehow, Heather transfigured the radio into a muggle stereo system, something that she was very fond of. Heather felt very hyper, ready to sing whatever. She made the CD, then pressed play. 

_"Said Upside down, you turn me, round and round your turning me!_   
_Upside down, boy you turn me, inside out, and round and round!_   
_Upside down, boy you turn me, inside out, and round and round…"_

Heather jumped onto George's bed, using her wand as a microphone. She danced, shaking her bottom in their faces and waving her arms above her head to the music. After the third time the song had played, Fred and George caught on. 

George pointed his wand at his throat, changing his voice to Dianna Ross'. He jumped onto the bed, grabbing Heather around the waist, singing, _"Upside down you're turning me, you're giving love, instinctively. Round and round, your turning me…"_

Heather collapsed on the bed after the song had completed five times. George lay down next to her, moving her hair out of her eyes with his shaky fingers. "You're pretty," he said. She leaned forward, letting his lips meet hers. 

"I think I'll go," said Fred, disgusted that his brother was snogging in front of him. He slammed the door loudly as he went. 

"Maybe I should go apologize," said George, getting out of the bed. 

"No! Come back!" Begged Heather. George shrugged, letting himself be pulled back onto the bed. Heather's steamy lips met his own again, her tongue violently piercing his mouth. She rubbed her hands down his shoulders, encouraging him to lose the robes. 

"Atah Rotzeh Ani?" asked George. Heather looked at him puzzled. "Oh never mind, I'll just take it as a yes." Heather leaned forward, unbuttoned George's robes and pulled him into the bed again. She pushed him on his back, then crawled to his feet. "What are you doing?" George asked. 

Heather didn't reply. She pulled each of George's socks off, throwing them out of the way. Looking up at the man, Heather saw a blur of orange freckles and red hair. She wasn't sure who it was, but didn't care. She bent down to lick his toes, when a disgusting smell filled her nostrils. _"What is that!"_ she cried. 

_"What is what?"_ asked George in a stern British accent. 

"That smell!" George sniffed around, not smelling anything. He pulled his foot up to his nose and immediately pulled it away. 

"It's just my feet," he said innocently. Heather was too grossed out and too drunk to continue being with George. He helped her over to his twin's bed, tucked her under the blankets and waited for the normal signs of sleeping to occur. Then he went to wash his feet... 

_ More A/N's:_   
REVIEWS! LOL. Sorry I didn't put in all the italics, they don't transfer when I copy the text... GRRRRRR. Well, hope you liked this week's challenge fic. Please visit my [homepage][2] where I am posting each chapter, as well as my other story. Its got some fanart I drew also. All right, enough blabbing, please review below! Thanks, ~Jul   


   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/index.fic?action=story-read&storyid=175583
   [2]: http://mypage.goplay.com/hpfanfic/



	5. The Weasleys and The Devil's Child - 5

A/N: OK! Forgive me; I lied. I may have led people to believe that something huge is going to happen to Nina in the next part of the saga, but it doesn't really... at least not quite yet. Don't be fooled, there are a lot of clues as to what's coming in the final two (probably two) parts. OK, now that that's taken care of, enjoy...

The Weasleys and the Devil's Child -- Part Five   
By [Juliette][1] -- Click my name to find links to the first four parts (under fanfic!)

  


_Chapter One – Where I Left Off Last Chapter…_

So George washed his feet, and they no longer smelled. The next morning Heather awoke with no recollection of the previous nights events and Harry and Fred awoke in the Weasley living room on opposite couches. 

A few days later, Nina went back to Hogwarts, then two years pass… 

_Chapter Two –The Jones'_

Once again, Nina Weasley emerged from the Hogwarts Express, this time for the Easter Vacation. She was not going home; but to her best friend Dylan's house. Dylan was muggle born and it was Nina's first time visiting a muggle house. 

Nina tried to drag her trunk and keep up with Dylan as best she could. Midway across the crowded platform, Dylan dropped his trunk and turned around. Nina did the same, placing her hands over her hips and narrowing her eyes at him. In return, Dylan grinned and they both burst out laughing. This wasn't unusual; it was a nearly daily ritual. 

"Ok, so where are your parents?" Nina asked. 

"Outside the barrier," replied Dylan. "They're muggles, remember." _Oh yeah_. They waited on a long line of departing students going through the barrier between platforms 9 and 10. Dylan, being more scared than Nina, ran through. 

"Dylan!" Just as Nina emerged from the other side of the barrier, she heard someone call her friend's name. It was a short girl wearing muggle jeans and a fitting blue sweater. 

"Hey Vicki," called Dylan. The girl pushed her way through the muggles and wizards between her and her brother. Dylan gave her a quick brotherly hug. "Vick, this is Nina," Dylan said, introducing them. 

"Hi," said Vicki shyly. 

"Hi," Nina replied. 

"Where's mum and dad?" asked Dylan. Vicki pointed across the busy hall toward the exit. 

"They're waiting outside by the car." Dylan groaned, sweeping a dirty blond bang out of his eyes. The prospect of lugging his trunk out to the parking lot was devastating. 

Vicki skipped alongside Nina and her brother. She seemed to be quite hyper active and asked Nina a lot of questions. "Do you have any siblings?" was the one that triggered the whole thing. 

"Yes, I've got seven, as-a-matter-of-fact," replied Nina. Vicki's eyes lit up and her brother grinned. 

"Here we go," he muttered. 

Although she had definitely heard his remark, Vicki chose to ignore it. "Really? Do all wizard families have eight children? Do they all go to Ho'wars…" 

_"Hogwarts_," corrected Dylan. Vickey shot him a _shut-up_ glance. 

"I knew that toad-face!" Vicki shouted at her brother. _"I read the books!"_

"Well," began Nina. "No, most families do not have eight kids, do they?" 

"No, but it's a wizard family… there's this one from the book that had seven, what did you say your surname was?" 

"Shut-up Vicki!" threatened Dylan. "Families are all the same, wizard _or_ muggle!" 

"I'm ignoring you!" shouted Vicki. She stormed off ahead of them, not caring who she ran into in the process of leaving the crowded station. 

"Sorry about her," Dylan sighed. They stopped near a bench to rest, piling the trunks onto it. "Its just sibling rivalry, we really do love each other." Nina nodded, she was too out of breath to say anything. "I mean, you must know what I mean, you've got seven siblings! Vicki's just one sister." 

Nina shook her head. "You're forgetting how much older all my sibling are. We never even bicker, although they do amongst themselves." 

"Amongst themselves? What's that mean?" asked Dylan. 

"I, I don't know," stuttered Nina. _What did I mean?_ "I suppose I feel somewhat isolated from them because they've been grownups since pretty much as long as I can remember. They're all married; Bill's even got a daughter. I'm right in the generation gap." 

"Don't say that," cooed Dylan. He put his arm around Nina's shoulder, giving it a quick squeeze. Nina tried hard not to think of the time that her twin brothers had made her look like a Weasley. Whenever she did, Nina began to think of herself as an outsider, not a Weasley. 

"Let's keep moving," Nina said, pulling her heavy trunk off the bench. Dylan nodded retrieving his own trunk and they continued on. 

* * * 

Mr. Jones was an average man in every respect. He was a fairly successful accountant who led a "normal" life with his wife and two children. His daughter, Victoria or Vicki was twelve years old. She was fairly pretty with shoulder length dirty blond hair and hazel-green eyes. To her father's disapproval, Vicki's developing body was beginning to be noticed by her male classmates. Mr. Jones' son was different though. He was a wizard. 

Not meaning to put it in a bad way, but having a wizard in the family was very unusual. After Dylan had gotten his acceptance to the magic school, Nora, Mr. Jones' wife had traced her family tree back ten generations. She discovered that her eighth great-grandmother had been a witch. Somehow, the magical genes had skipped that many generations in the family. 

"They're coming," cried Nora. She ran across the lot to the two fifteen-year-old children coming toward them at a slug's pace. Unenthusiastically, Mr. Jones got out of the car and opened the trunk _(I forgot what this is called in England, anyone know?)_. He wasn't sure how they were going to fit two large trunks into it. 

"Mum!" cried Dylan, prying the woman off of her. Nora Jones immediately reminded Nina of her own mother; too kind and too touchy. There were many differences though. Mrs. Weasley was old enough to be Nora's mother. Mrs. Jones was around 35-years-old and the nicest muggle woman Nina had ever met. Actually, she was pretty much the only one she'd ever met. 

_Chapter Three -- Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix_

Once they'd crammed into the back of the Jones' three-year-old, red Acura, Nina began to feel out of place. She was entering a strange world which she had never known and had always been told was inferior to her own. Every so often, Mr. Jones glanced awkwardly through the rear-view mirror at her. There was an odd and uncomfortable silence as they drove onto the bypass. 

Bored out of his wits, Dylan Jones poked his sister every few seconds, hoping to stir some sort of angry response. "Stop it," she snapped. Vicki had her head dug in a muggle book, which she was obviously fascinated by. 

"C'mon Vicki!" The girl ignored the more intense prods in her side, pushing Dylan's hand away, but never looking up from the book. "What are you reading anyway?" her brother asked. Vicki lifted the book for them to see the cover. 

"Oh my god!" Nina cupped her hand over her mouth. The title read _Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix_. 

"What?" asked Vicki curiously, finally pulling her eyes away from the thick book. 

"Harry Potter is _real_," she gasped. "Let me see that book!" 

"I know that Hogwarts is real," replied Vickey. "But this is all made up by some wizard, right?" 

"Let me see that!" demanded Nina. 

"Let her see it, Vick," said Dylan, reaching across the back seat. 

"No!" shouted Vicki stubbornly. 

"What's going on back there?" demanded Mr. Jones. 

"Is this about those magic books?" asked Mrs. Jones, more kindly than her husband did. 

"Yes mum, and she won't let us see it!" Dylan pried the book from his sister's grip. 

"Give it back!" whaled Vicki. Nina turned and stared at the girl beside her. _How dare she?_

Suddenly, Vicki's mouth was bound shut, magically. She tried hard to open it, but only a deep humming noise came from her throat. Eyes wide with terror, Vicki sank back into her seat. 

"What did you do to my sister?" demanded Dylan. 

"I didn't do anything, honest!" She wasn't so sure though; her and Dylan were the only ones in the car with the ability to put a mouth-binding charm on the girl. 

"What do you mean you didn't do it?" asked Dylan, more angrily. "She's annoying but we're not aloud to do magic during the holiday, you know that!" 

"I didn't do it!" Shouted Nina. She felt the blood rush to her face and her fists tighten on her sides. "My wand is in my trunk!" 

"_Do what?_ What's going on back there, are you all right Vicki?" asked Mr. Jones. 

"Nothing, Dad, she's fine," replied Dylan. After a few seconds, Dylan whispered, "Can you fix it?" 

"Do you have your wand?" asked Nina just as quietly. He nodded, poked through his jacket pocket for the ten and a half-inch, wand. It felt foreign under Nina's grip. She performed the simple anti-hex, which released Vicki from the spell. 

"Mum!" she whaled. Nina clapped her hands over the girl's mouth. 

"Listen, it was an accident," she hissed. Slowly, Vicki nodded her head and fell back into her seat. She was silent for the rest of the ride. 

_Chapter Four – The Almost Kiss_

The Jones' home was a simple two-floor brick house. The street in which they lived on was rowed with these identical homes. It was located in a lovely muggle London suburb. It was a fairly warm day for mid-spring and there were children riding bicycles up and down the block. 

The interior of the Jones' house was like nothing Nina had ever seen. Everything was run by electricity. She was amazed how creative the muggles had been to get around magic. It also amazed Nina how neat and _straight_ the house was. 

Upstairs, there were four bedrooms. The largest belonged to Mr. and Mrs. Jones, while the other three were precisely the same size. The room next to the landing belonged to Vicki. The next down the hall belonged to Dylan and the one directly next to it was a guestroom. Generally, this room was designated to Nora's mother who visited often. 

Sweat gleamed on Mr. Jones' brow as he set Nina's trunk onto the carpeted floor beside the guest bed. He rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand, then directed Nina to the adjacent bath and showed her the light switch. "Wow," she said in awe, repeatedly switching it on and off. 

Nina didn't care that Mr. Jones was giving her a funny look for being amazed by a light switch or that she was slightly uncomfortable because there was no ghoul to make noise overhead. She plopped onto the soft bed and slipped off her shoes. 

"Nin?" Dylan popped his head through the bathroom door. 

"How did you get in my bath?" demanded Nina. "No _magic_, right?" 

"It's a _shared_ bath," explained Dylan. He showed her the door leading to his bedroom. They stepped into it closing the door behind them. 

"What's that?" asked Nina. 

"What's what?" replied Dylan. 

_"That!"_ pointed Nina. 

"Oh _that_," chuckled Dylan. "That's a computer, would you like to have a go.?" Nina looked awkwardly at the big box and screen _thing_ as if it were about to jump up and bite her. 

"No," she said. "No I don't think I will, thank you though." 

Dylan shrugged. "Oh yeah, I've got the book," he said. 

"Oh, the book," mimicked Nina. Somehow she'd blocked the events from the trip, and everything was being triggered back into immediate memory. _"The spell…"_

"Look, Nin, don't worry about it. We all do small magic without wands when we're angry…" Dylan started. 

"I wasn't angry!" 

"You were, Nin," Dylan replied gently. He was only a few feet away from her, and quickly closed the gap and put his arms around her, pulling her into a tight hug. "I want to know what's going on just as much as you do," he whispered. 

Nina pulled her head away from Dylan's shoulder and looked up into his twinkling hazel eyes. Instead of smiling and laughing as it usually did, Dylan's mouth was pulled down into a concerned position, but immediately became a wide grin. 

"You know what _this_ is?" he asked, pulling away from Nina. She shook her head. "It's a telephone, a wireless telephone." _A What?_ Nina had heard of the telephone; an adequate muggle communications devise. "Go like this," demonstrated Dylan. He held the receiver up to his ear and said _"hello?"_

Nina took the telephone out of his hands. He was grinning like an idiot, obviously hoping she'd make a fool out of herself. This was exactly what Nina did. Hands shaking, Nina raised the phone to her ear. She was surprised how well it fit against the side of her face. _ "Hello?"_ Dylan started laughing. _"HELLO?"_ she shouted, wondering if she wasn't speaking loud enough. 

Frustrated, Nina was about to throw the device at her on-the-floor-laughing, idiot of a friend. Just then, it started ringing loudly in her ear. As if it were a hot coal, Nina jumped into the air and threw the phone straight across the room. 

Dylan was beside himself for a good part of the next ten minutes laughing. "It's _not_ funny!" Nina shouted, once she'd stopped shaking. This only made Dylan laugh more, and soon Nina jumped on top of him and tackled him to be quiet. 

Despite being a somewhat slim and delicate looking fifteen-year old girl, Nina was quite a match against her best friend in wrestling. For a few minutes the friends rolled around on the bed, neither having reached a winning position. 

"What are you doing I can't breathe!" Nina shouted. Dylan had finally pinned her down under him. 

"Alas! I win," he grinned. 

"Next time," wheezed Nina. Dylan looked into her eyes and wore a smirk which made her want to hit him and kiss him all at the same time. Over the school year the two friends had grown very close. Late at night, Nina found herself wondering if Dylan considered their relationship as more than friendship; after all, he had only invited her to stay with him during the vacation. Nina was too busy worrying about whether or not Dylan liked to her to ask herself if she liked him back. 

Nina's body began to ache from Dylan's weight; yet she didn't want him to move, not ever. He continued to stare into her eyes, not saying a word. The awkwardness of the silence had passed. Nina ignored it, her mind numb with some sort of anticipation. Slowly, Dylan cleaned forward and cupped his hand over the smooth black hair, which cascaded over her right ear. 

Nina could feel Dylan's heart beat increase, his chest flattened on hers. She could feel her own speed up and her breath get shorter. Her lips felt dry and Nina didn't think she could speak if she tried. Chills ran down her spine as Dylan combed his fingers through her hair. His mouth was about an inch from hers, and Nina felt herself close her eyes. The last thing she saw was Dylan doing the same thing, and… 

_KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK_. "Dylan?" 

Dylan scrambled off the bed, but Nina could barely feel her legs. Standing up was quite out of the question. 

"Vick?" called Dylan. His voice was shaky. 

"Let me in," came Vicki's distinct voice. Dylan snapped the lock off his door and stepped aside. Vicki's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates when she saw Nina sitting light-headed on her brother's bed. 

"You were… you were _snogging…_" she gasped in disbelief. 

"No we weren't!" said Dylan. "Don't you go tell mum lies about us either." Vicki seemed to be pondering something for a few seconds; then her eyes returned to their normal size. She was in no position to rat out a witch and wizard; even if they were underage. 

"What do you want?" demanded Dylan. Shaking, Vicki held up a book. _Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone_. 

"If you're going to read them," she said. "Start from the beginning." Typed across the side cover was the words year one. "Give me back the other one and I'll lend you all seven books," bargained Vicki. "The last one just came out last month," she added as if it were special. 

Dylan glanced at Nina who nodded. He handed his sister _Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix_ with his right hand, and took _Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone_ with his left. 

* * * 

Dinner was a quick and silent affair. To Nina's relief, Mr. and Mrs. Jones asked her very few questions about being from a magical family. Vicki ate silently, only speaking when she wanted the potatoes or the salt. 

After dessert, which was homemade chocolate chip cookies and milk, Nina and Dylan excused themselves from the kitchen, back to Dylan's room. For the first time, Nina carefully examined _Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone._ It was by J.K. Rowling; Nina didn't know whether she was a muggle or a witch. 

Nina sat in Dylan's lap as they read the book. Every few pages, he would gently brush the hair from her neck and lean his chin onto either of her shoulders. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held the book so Nina didn't have to. When she turned the page, she would touch his hands for a second, giving her Goosebumps. 

It was nearly eleven o'clock when they finally finished reading and _the Philosopher's Stone_. Nina was sobbing softly. She had cramps in her legs and back from sitting in the same position for three and a half hours. 

Who is J.K. Rowling? Nina pondered. If she were a muggle, how had she known the Harry Potter story? Nina was eager to read the next book, but her eyes were heavy and red from crying. 

Dylan walked Nina back through the connecting bath, into her room. The shared a familiar hug, then stared at each other for a long awkward moment. Nina felt her pulse speed up and her head became light. _Was he finally going to kiss her?_ Dylan leaned in and the last second planted a small peck in Nina's cheek. "Goodnight," he whispered before disappearing back into the bathroom. 

* * * 

Over the next three days, Nina and Dylan finished the entire Harry Potter series, and were itching for answers. "We've got to start on the Internet," announced Dylan. They were sitting in his room, brainstorming ideas. 

"What is the _Internet_?" asked Nina. She was hoping it didn't have to do with the telephone. Every time it rang in the Jones' house, Nina jumped a few feet in the air. She was beginning to get used to it though. 

"The Internet is a powerful network with information seen from a computer," explained Dylan. Nina, who didn't understand a word he was saying, gave Dylan a look that read something similar to _was that English?_ "Try explaining a polyjuice potion to a muggle," Dylan muttered. 

"What was that?" Nina asked, raising her eyebrows. 

"Nothing," he muttered, "nothing." Dylan, who was already seated at his desk chair, swiveled around to face his computer. Nina was less scared of it and curiously watching him type in the letters _www_ in a little box in the thing he called a window. "We'll search in _Yahoo-dot-com,_" he said. He typed in the _yahoo_ and a little period and the word _com_. 

"What does that mean?" Nina asked. She could speak Chinese about as well as she could understand a muggle computer. 

"It's a search engine," replied Dylan. Nina immediately thought of a steam engine; the Hogwarts Express. She shook her head, trying to release the image; it had no relevance. 

Dylan typed the name Harry Potter and click on a small button with the word search engraved in it. After a few seconds, a huge list of "links" came up, all containing Harry's name. "Where should we start?" asked Nina. 

Dylan scrolled the cursor down the screen and stopped at the Bloomsbury site. "Might as well start with the official site," he said. The caption read _'with special entrances for Muggles and for Witches and Wizards.'_

"Oh good," Nina said, "maybe she _is_ a witch." But it turned out to be a hoax. According to the long biography of Joanne Kathleen Rowling went to all muggle schools. "So, then she's a muggle?" asked Nina, who was completely confused. 

Dylan scrolled to the very bottom of the page and didn't find another hopeful site, which might tell them who J.K. Rowling really was. _ "Next Twenty Matches?"_ Nina pointed to the screen. "Does that mean there's more?" 

"Nin, don't touch the screen," Dylan said. 

"Sorry," Nina mumbled. 

"It's all right, you didn't know." Nina nodded. "Let's try this," Dylan suggested. He pointed the cursor at a small link on the bottom of the page that read _Ask Jeeves_. "I think I used to use that site to do my homework before I went to Hogwarts," Dylan said. 

"Who is Jeeves?" Nina asked. 

"I don't know," replied Dylan. "Let's worry about J.K. Rowling now, ok Nin?" 

"Yeah, Ok Dyl…" 

"Don't call me that!" 

"Don't call me Nin!" 

"I can call you whatever I want to, Nin!" 

"Oh yeah?" shouted Nina. She stood up, Dylan doing the same thing. They had a short tackle session, partially forgetting the search. 

_Chapter Five – METMA_

Once the wrestling match was over, Nina and Dylan re-seated themselves in front of the computer. Dylan clicked on _Ask Jeeves_ and immediately a bunch of linked showed up in the form of questions. The first one read: Where can I find Harry Potter fan fiction? 

"What is fan fiction?" Nina asked. "Harry Potter isn't fiction," she added as a side thought. 

"I don't know, want to find out?" Dylan asked. Before he waited for a response, Dylan had already clicked the _Ask_ button. A new window appeared with a huge list of stories and authors. 

"Click on that one," pointed Nina. She was careful not to touch the screen though. 

"It's a few years old though," Dylan said. The date read _1/22/01_. It also said that it was written before the release of the fifth Harry Potter book, not to mention _what was it?_

"I don't care, click or I'll make you wish you did!" 

"Yes master," Dylan mocked. Nina glared at him. She didn't know he could see her through the reflection of the monitor. 

The story called Tommy's Great Adventure _(parts one-four)_ took a few minutes to load. When Nina and Dylan had finished reading it, their mouths were open and eyes wide. _"That's sick!"_ Nina exclaimed. 

"What kind of joke was that?" Dylan asked. "Let me get this straight," he started, changing his voice from confusion to anger, "that hundreds of innocent people died during this magical reign of terror because a bunch of aliens wanted fish and chips?" 

"Look, we missed something," Nina said, hoping to change the subject. She read out loud: _"A/N… (what's that) Hope you guys enjoyed that crazy fic. Please send reviews and join METMA, here is the web page --> [METMA][2]"_ _(note: there is another metma link at the bottom of the fic! Please keep reading)_ "Click that," Nina instructed. 

Dylan clicked on the link which brought him to a webpage with the logo METMA across the top. Outloud, Nina read _"Muggles for Equal Treatment of Magical Articles."_

_Chapter six – Better Be By The End_

_"What the…"_ Dylan was inturupted by a loud tapping on his window. "It's an owl!" he said, unlatching the window lock. The mid-sized brown and white specked bird fluttered through the window. 

"That's Log! He belongs to my brothers Fred and George," Nina said, grabbing the owl out of the air. She set it down onto the computer table and carefully untied the letter bound to his front-leg. 

Just to be sure the letter was decent for Dylan to read, Nina read it through before showing him:   
  


Dearest sister Nina,

My Ninny! How is vacation at the muggles'? Hope they haven't burned you at the stake yet! Anyway, mum is making a huge fuss about you and your friend Dylan having dinner at The Burrow next Thursday night. Dad wants to know if the muggle house had a fireplace, send an owl back.

(who else),   
Fred & George

P.S. Say butterbeer ten times quickly in one breath.

"Anything interesting?" Dylan asked. Nina tossed him the letter and rummaged through Dylan's drawer for a parchment and a quill. When she only found pens and paper, she decided they'd do. 

"What's the butterbear thing?" Nina shrugged. "I guess I'll try it," Dylan said. He took a deep breath… _"Butterbeer, butterbeer, butterbeer, butterbee, butterbee, budderbee, buddebee…"_ deep breath. "Owe, how many times was that Nin?" 

"About six," Nina replied, holding back a fit of giggles. "You should have heard some of the things you said, it almost sounded like _better be_ by the end." They both burst out laughing. 

"Anyway," Dylan said, finally catching his breath. "We should ask about the books," he said. "Your father can look into it, wasn't he in the ministry?" 

"Yeah… how do you hold this thing?" Nina was referring to the pen. The ink kept blotching and it felt awkward in her hand. 

"Let me write," Dylan responded, chuckling that Nina couldn't hold a pen straight. "Never mind that, I'll type it!" 

"Err…" started Nina. 

"What, don't tell me that'll scare your parents…" responded Dylan. 

"It might… but that's not the problem." Dylan raised his eyebrows. "My dad's a bit of a fanatic with muggle electrical objects…" 

"Oh say no more! Don't worry Nin, it'll be fine." Dylan sat himself in front of the computer and opened a typing program. "So what are going to say?" he asked. 

* * * 

Half an hour later, Dylan had typed out the following letter:   
  


Dear Mum, Dad and everyone else,

Dylan has an unblocked fireplace; you can come and pick us up at 6:30 PM on Thursday. The muggles haven't burnt me at the stake yet, but thanks for asking.   
Speaking of muggles, Dylan and I read a series of books about Harry, for muggles! Dad, do you know anything about them? The author is J.K. Rowling and we can't figure out whether she is a muggle or not. The muggles think that she made up the entire thing and are quite obsessed with it too. Please send an owl with a response!

Much Love,   
Nina Weasley

P.S. Dylan typed this letter on a computer! _(Dad, it has plugs!)_   


"Plugs?" chuckled Dylan. 

"Don't ask," mumbled Nina. She was a little startled of the printer, but was amazed to see the letter on the sheet. Looking from the screen to the duplicate paper, Nina repeated _"wow"_ a few dozen times. 

_Chapter Six – Red Light, Green Light, One, Two, Three_

Nina and Dylan made a pact to not worry about the Harry Potter books and have fun for the next week. They spent to next few days going to movies, playing muggle board games and even hanging out with Dylan's sister, Vicki. 

Vicki had either forgiven or forgotten that Nina had bound her mouth on the car trip back from Kings Cross Station. One sunny afternoon, the three of them were in the Jones' backyard playing mother, may I with the neighbors' twin children, Arnold and Jane (both six-years-old). 

"This is a pointless game," Nina whispered to Dylan. She kept forgetting to ask 'mother may I' and was losing miserably. 

"I want to be mother," Arnold whaled. 

"You can't be mother, you're a boy!" his sister shouted back. 

"Let's not fight," coaxed Vicki, who was officially their babysitter for the afternoon. "How about we play red light, green light, one, two, three?" The twins liked this idea, so it was decided. 

After Dylan and Vicki had quickly explained the rules to Nina, Arnold become the traffic light. 

"I'm a traffic light!" he teased to his sister. She poked her tongue at him. Nina had to resist blurting out _ignorant muggles!_ "Red light, green light, one, two, three!" Arnold shouted. 

The boy turned around and pointed at Nina. "Who me?" Nina asked as if he must be kidding. Arnold nodded slowly. Nina narrowed her eyes. _"Stupid kid, I didn't even move!"_

"Yes you did!" shouted Arnold, stubbornly. 

"That's it!" Nina shouted. She wasn't sure how, but the next thing she knew, Arnold was blinking a red and a green eye. They were as bright as small traffic lights. 

"You stupid _witch!_" Vicki screamed. 

"Shut up Vicki," threatened Dylan. "Nina, what did you do?" 

"I, I don't know!" Nina stumbled backward, tripping over a hose. Upon landing in the soft grass, Nina put her head in her hands. Everything was spinning and confusing. Nothing made sense. It didn't even bother Nina that she had made an advanced Transfiguration without a wand; she didn't know why she did it. 

Not able to bear it anymore, Nina felt her thoughts dissolve and everything went black. 

* * * 

"Nin?" Nina felt dampness on her forehead. Her eyes fluttered open, at first all she was blur. Nina's eyes focused and Dylan's face came into view. Head still spinning, Nina tried to sit up. 

"Nin, don't do that," Dylan said, gently pushing her back into the bed of grass she was laying in. 

"What happened?" Nina asked. 

"I don't know, but it stopped happening when you passed out," replied Dylan. He was holding a warm, damp washcloth to her head. 

"What's that for?" Nina asked weakly. 

"Its an old muggle method of waking unconscious people," explained Dylan. The warm water felt oddly good. 

"What about the twins…" Nina started. 

"Don't worry, Vicki took them inside." Nina couldn't help but worry. The world was no longer spinning and Dylan allowed Nina to slowly sit up. After another few minutes she helped her stand up. 

The sun was just beginning to set and leaning on Dylan's shoulder, Nina enjoyed the display of colors in the sky. They started with light pink into purple, each minute the colors took more bold shades. A few seconds before the sun finally disappeared beyond the horizon, Dylan turned to Nina. 

Whispering, he said "I'm not really sure what happened, but I know you're not a bad person, Nina Weasley." Dumbfound, Nina nodded. "I've been trying to tell you something for a few days," he continued. 

"Really?" Nina asked. 

"No… for a few years actually," Dylan replied. "Shut up or I'll never get up the nerve to say it again, OK?" Nina grinned. "I like you," he blurted. 

Nina smiled even wider; then she started laughing. 

"What's so funny?" Dylan asked, scared that Nina was taking it as a joke. 

"Nothing… OK, I'll tell you, but you might not understand." 

"What? Tell me!" insisted Dylan. 

_"Achalta ha kelev sheli!"_ Nina gasped between violent giggles. "Fred taught me that one, he told me it was mine to use when I had my first kiss." 

"First kiss?" asked Dylan confused. 

"Well yeah, you are going to kiss me, aren't you?" asked Nina boldly. Dylan nodded, then took one of Nina's hands into his and leaned forward and kissed her. It was a short peck on the lips, but the sweetest first kiss Nina could have ever asked for. 

* * *

A/N2: This part was not so funny as it was cute. Obviously, the next part we'll find out whether or not J.K. Rowling is a witch or a muggle. I know and I'm not telling you!! _::pokes fun at all the readers::_ Please review below and tell me your theories!! Here's my [webpage][3] which has links to all my fanfiction. Here is [METMA Mandy's Site][2]. Join METMA! (HEHE... Mandy should pay me!) 

_Please report all mistakes (grammar or spelling) in the review section. I will immediately fix them!_   
  


   [1]: http://mypage.goplay.com/hpfanfic
   [2]: http://www.geocities.com/metmamandy/
   [3]: http://mypage.goplay.com/hpfanfic/



	6. The Weasleys and The Devil's Child - 6

A/N: I can't believe how much fluff I stuff into this fic. It's not my best work, but important to what's coming later, as you might guess at the end. Much thanks to ~*Tinkerbell*~ for reading this 20 page file for me, and then reporting no mistakes. This means one of two things: it's great, or you're too lazy to fix all my crappy writing (j/k). 

To Mandy: It's OK if I don't win! 

* * *

Okay, so, the new challenge:   
*It must be funny OR serious (I'll give you not-funny writers a chance!) ? laughs, that's me!   
*It has to be from the point of view of a character (NOT an object)   
*The character you are doing the point of view of CANNOT be Ron, Hermione, Harry, Voldemort, or any of the overused ones. [A reminder that I give points for originality.]   
*Must include the phrase "But...I don't like fruitcakes!" *laffs with xoe*   
*Someone has to die (it can be a sad or funny death.)   
*There has to be a *DUH DUH DUH* barrette that plays pranks on people... 

* * *

The Weasleys and the Devil's Child   
By Juliette

  


> Part Six

  
And so it went on that Nina and Dylan became more than just friends, but it barely changed their already strong friendship. Thursday evening found Nina and the entire Jones family waiting nervously, or in Nina's case, anxiously, for the Weasley's arrival. 

With a loud bang, Mr. Weasley apparated into the room, from thin air. 

"Sir!" Mrs. Jones cried, jumping off the sofa. 

"Dad!" Squealed Nina, lunging herself at the aging man. 

"Aw, nice to see you too, sweetie," he cooed, patting her back. Once they had finally parted, Mr. Weasley explained that he had apparated there to make certain that the fireplace would really support floo travel. 

"Foo what?" asked Mrs. Jones. 

"Floo travel," repeated Mr. Weasley. He removed a small cloth bag from inside his robes and carefully undid the little bow holding it together. "You simply throw some of the powder in the fire and step in… oh, but don't forget to tell the network where you're going," he added. 

Mr. and Mrs. Jones looked somewhat bewildered, but certainly a little impressed. Vicki, on the other hand, was gawking. 

"Your Arthur Weasley! She stammered, goggling at his thinning red hair, apparently trying to decide whether to kiss his robes or not. She opted not to and bit her lip instead. 

"Yes… do I know you?" asked Mr. Weasley, carefully studying the muggle girl. 

Immediately, Nina saw what was going on. "Victoria, this is my dad, Arthur Weasley," she said, stressing dad. "And dad, this is Dylan's sister, Victoria Jones." 

"Nice to meet you, Victoria," said Mr. Weasley, sticking out his robed arm. Vicki applied more pressure to her purple lip and stuck out her own arm. She felt light headed from all the confusion and desperately tried to make everything fit into place. It simply wouldn't. 

"Better be moving along, then," Dylan piped nervously. "See you later, mum, dad." He looked at his sister, being the only one to understand her utter bewilderment, then leaned in and whispered: "Nina's adopted, bone head." Vicki's eyes lit up and she grew less tense.   
  


"Well," said Mr. Weasley. "I have short business at the Ministry, but give your mother my regards and apologies." Using his wand, Arthur prepared a fire for floo travel. First Nina and then Dylan disappeared, shouting, 'the burrow!' as they left. With a final wave, Mr. Weasley disapparated to the Ministry. 

* * *

"Nina!" Molly's shrill echoed through the room as she came running up to her baby. 

"Mum!" Nina wheezed in turn. She was fifteen, how much longer could her mother treat her like a small child? 

Molly finally pulled away, her eyes sidling onto Dylan. The muggle born boy had just come forth from the large fireplace, and was remissibly dusting his muggle shirt with his fingers while meeting Mrs. Weasley's gaze. 

"Dylan Jones," she assumed. "Come here," she said gently, but Dylan hesitated as he stepped into Mrs. Weasley's striking range. She gave him a full scrutiny before smiling at both teenagers. "Where's your father, no more trouble with muggles… I hope?" 

"No, mum, he had business at the Ministry," replied Nina. 

"That man, what does he want with the Ministry, we have enough money to support half of Hogwarts, for Merlin's sake!" Mrs. Weasley walked back into the kitchen muttering to herself. 

Nina and Dylan let out identical sighs as the reached the first landing, positive that Mrs. Weasley no longer had her near 'magic eye' on them. 

Nina, in front, turned and ran right into one of her twin brothers. 

"Nin, watch it!" he said, scooping her into a hug and twirling her around the hall. 

"I'd say the same to you," Nina replied, touching her head dizzily. 

"What do we have here… this must Dylan?" Fred leaned down and pressed his nose into the boy's face, then pulled away, dissembling a rough look over. Dylan had another trepidation, which Nina found to be hysterical. 

"That's just Fred," she giggled. "He won't harm you!" 

"Oh good," Dylan said, relaxing. 

"It's George, but we Weasleys generally don't bite," he winked, "though I'd watch out for Percy, he's the arch-fiend." They both laughed and Nina shook her head in disapproval. 

"Better watch what you say, Fred, some of these walls can listen, and if Percy ever heard what you just called him…" 

"What did you just call me?" asked Percy, sticking his nose out of a previously closed door. 

"Speak of the devil," Fred said, humoring over his own pun. 

"Nothing," said Nina. 

Percy ignored them and redirected the question at Dylan, "what did they call me?" 

"They were just telling me that you worked in the ministry and were such an over achiever," Dylan lied smoothly. 

Percy's ears turned pink and he stuck out his chest. "Well I suppose you could say that…" 

"Why are you home?" Fred asked. 

"What?" Percy asked, baffled. "Oh that…" His face got a little red and he mumbled, "Penny's having one of her moods and," he scratched his head and cleared his throat. "I must get work done, there is too much work to get finished!" He slammed the door fiercely. 

Across the hall, a door opened as the other one shut; George Weasley's head popped out. "What's got him so rankled? Hope it wasn't the Humor Pills we slipped him last week…was it?" It didn't sound as though George would have been very upset if they had been the pills. 

"No, he sent us a howler at the shop yesterday, but Liz was there to open it. Bless her soul, that woman has spunk!" 

"Who's Liz?" Nina asked. 

"You don't know who Liz Johnson is?" George asked as if she were Harry Potter himself. 

"No," she shook her head. 

"Honestly do we have to stand in the hallway?" Dylan asked, speaking up for the first time since he had lied to Percy. 

"No of course not," said George. He opened his door and they stepped into the twin's old bedroom. Nina and Dylan seated themselves contiguously on George's bed and the twins did the same on Fred's. 

"Liz Johnson is the blessing that has kept together Weasleys Wizarding Wheezes," explained Fred. "We only hired her as a clerk a while back, but she does book keeping and other sorts now. She's the brains of the function… at least for the business side." 

"Johnson?" asked Dylan. Both twins nodded. 

"Angelina Johnson, sister?" asked Nina, catching onto Dylan's thought. They were compatible that way. 

"You better believe it!" Frightened, Nina snapped her head toward the doorway. A beautiful black woman in soft teal robes stood at the doorway with her hands on her hips. "Fred Weasley, you were supposed to meet me fifteen minutes ago!' 

"Angel…" 

"Don't Angel me, Weasley," she shot back. 

Angelina took quick strides and met Fred near the bed. He stood up and she narrowed her eyes at him. It seriously looked as though she was about to slap him hard across the face, when they both burst out laughing. She flung her arms around his neck and kissed him fiercely on the lips. 

"So what's your sorry excuse this time, funny boy?" 

"My sister just got home, I was on my way…" 

"Sister? Ginny?" 

"Nina," Fred said, pointing at her. For the first time, Angelina acknowledged Nina and the guy friend seated next to her on the bed. She smiled warmly and shook Nina's hand. 

"Nice to finally meet you, I'm Angelina Johnson, I've heard a lot about you." 

"That's funny, all I know about you is what we read," replied Nina. 

"Read?" Angelina mimicked. 

"The Harry Potter books," said Dylan. He opened his book bag and let the seven books fall onto the bed. George got up and examined each. 

"Jeez, Harry doesn't look like that,' he commented. 

"But did you find out who J.K. Rowling is?" Nina asked. She had been pushing the annoying question to the back of her mind all week. 

"Yes, dad did. I don't really get it, so he can explain it." 

Angelina looked down at the books as if they were evil. "Doesn't anyone know that I have copyrights on my name, this thing is smirching me! 

"Now Angel, I'm sure they're not. They're smirching Harry, if anybody." 

"Don't feel bad, Ms. Johnson, I wasn't mentioned in them. The rest of the Weasleys were, save cousin Derick; he started Hogwarts two years after Ginny." 

"I have certain endorsements for Quidditch and," she paused and examined the book, "Bloomsbury isn't one of them. Mark my words, I will be talking to my agent about this," she said enraged. Angelina angrily marched out of the room; Fred followed her closely like a puppy dog. 

"Ok… care to explain that?" Nina sternly said, eyeing her brother George. 

"Sure," he replied. George cleared his throat and cracked each of his. "Well… Fred and Angelina go way back to Hogwarts, you see. We were all on the Gryffindor house team and…" 

"We know, that's all in the books," said Dylan. 

"Right… anyway, with Liz working for us, and me dating Heather…" 

"Wait!" Nina shouted, "you're dating that American witch?" 

Annoyed, George responded, "funny thing, I'll tell you that story if you'd stop interrupting me!" 

"Right, sorry," Nina apologized. 

"For the third time… I thought that maybe Fred liked Liz… I was constantly trying to set them up. I'd leave them to count stock in the cellar or ask them to close up if I was going on a date, but it just wasn't happening. But one late evening, maybe a month or two ago, in walks the famous Qudditch player, Angelina Johnson." 

"Oh so what happened?" 

"Well she wasn't all too pleased that her sister was working for us. After all, we had full classes with her, and er," he stuttered, "our track record with being serious and down to business wasn't so good back then." 

"Yeah," Nina giggled. 

Anyway, besides that, it was nice to catch up with an old classmate. God knows how or why, something between Fred and Angelina clicked. It's way too bad she's such a control freak, but Fred says she's not like that when they're alone." 

"That's sweet," Nina said, glad for her brother. It would be nice to have a famous Qudditch player in the family, not that the Weasleys were not already famous for Molly's books. "So what about you and Miss America?" teased Nina. 

George shot her a glare and launched into that ironic story. "You see, Harry's old girlfriend, Clara was Heather's old roommate and good friend. Those two, I mean Harry and Clara, got in a huge fight a few months back. Harry came to see Ron who was helping out with the shop at the time. Of course this was before Liz," he further explained. 

Nina and Dylan nodded, not wanting to interrupt George's rambling. 

"Clara has a bit of an attitude and was apparently throwing a few hexes at Harry, and so Fred, Ron and I went over to deal with her. Heather was there, of course, and one enraged Clara backed the two of us into a bathroom. Well… you get the rest," he added, turning a little red. 

"Cute story," Nina said. Before then, she hadn't realized that she was leaning back in Dylan's arms, which was not unusual, but George was not supposed to know about their couple status. 

"So how did it happen for you?" her brother smirked, obviously impressed with his own slyness. 

"What happen?" Nina asked nervously, quickly sitting up. George just chuckled and shook his head. 

"Hey, don't you have your own room?" he asked sarcastically. This was their cue to leave, and the two teenagers continued on their delayed journey up to Nina's attic room. 

* * *

A thin layer of dust swirled into the air as Nina opened her door. She coughed briefly and then sat down on the edge of her bed. "What do you think?" she asked Dylan, finally regaining her full breath. 

The boy circulated the room, a grin playing his face. "It fits you well," he commented. This was true. Nina loved living above her family in the crazy house. She had lived in Ginny's old room until Ron had moved out, then opted for the space upstairs. 

A series of bangs overhead told them that the old gaul was up from a nap, and probably looking for some attention. Although the Weasleys had the money to hire a professional ghost exterminator (this was someone who would chase out ghosts, goblins, gauls, poltergeists and any other non-living beings from a house), they had grown accustomed to the noise. Molly and Arthur would never admit it, but they missed the twin's loud experiments. Percy had spent years trying to get rid of the thing, the same way that Filch still tried in vain to rid Hogwarts of Peeves the Poltergeist. It was utterly futile. 

* * *

It was nearly seven thirty, so Nina and Dylan headed back toward the main floor of the Borrow. An array of delightful smells was drifting up the stairs, and their mouths watered. 

Once in the kitchen, Mrs. Weasley shooed them into the living room. Fred sat on one side of a couch with his arm wrapped around Angelina's waist, with George and Heather on the other side of the sofa. 

"Nina!" the American exclaimed. She shot up, hugged Nina and lightly kissed her on the cheek as if they were already family. "How are you, I'm so glad we have finally met again!" 

Dylan, who stood closely beside Nina, poked her lightly. She glanced sideways and met his eyes. He lightly shrugged and spent the next five minutes trying not to laugh too hard at how fast George's girlfriend talked or how whipped Fred was for Angelina. 

Percy came down the stairs looking as though he had just ate a lemon. "How am I supposed to get any work with that stupid thing in the attic?" This was more of an announcement than a question, but George felt the need to answer anyway. 

"You could go home," he smirked. If possible, Percy narrowed his eyes, about-faced and practically marched into the kitchen to complain to his mother. Seconds later, Mrs. Weasley's shrills were audible and Percy, (now quite red faced), came sourly back into the living room. He silently sunk into one of the armchairs by the fire. 

"Well, this is lovely, eh?" said Heather. She smiled, showing two rows of brilliant white teeth. When no one answered, she asked, "will anyone else be joining us?" 

"Dad," Fred answered. According to the clock on the mantel, Mr. Weasley was traveling home from work. He only worked part time in the ministry, but had much trouble pulling himself away from his job. 

"Ginny might drop in," George informed them. "She wants to see Nina, or at least that's what she told me." 

"Why wouldn't she want to see her?" asked Dylan. Nina and Dylan had seated themselves across from the twins and Dylan was absentmindedly playing with her hair, while half-listening into the conversation. 

"Well…" started George. Heather leaned forward, eager to hear the gossip. "So I hear from Bill, who had Gin and Scott at their house for a week, they're having marital problems." 

"No way!" exclaimed Nina. 

Bitterly, Percy spoke up, "shut-up and stop gossiping about your sister, she's…" 

"Be quiet yourself, Perc, you're just mad because your having problems with precious Penny," George interrupted. 

"Don' you dare…" 

"Stop it!" They all turned around and goggled for a second. Ginny had apparated into the room. "Never," she said, angrily, "never did I dream that I would home and any of my siblings would be there, talking trash about me… never." 

"Gin…" Fred started. 

"Shut-up," she snapped back. Almost warmly, Ginny turned to Nina and hugged her. She eyed Dylan carefully and winked at him. "I complained about those butterfly clips and the shop gave me a new set," she said, drawing a package from her spring cloak pocket. 

"Ginny, you didn't have to…" 

"I know, Nin, but I wanted to." They each smiled, sharing a rare sister-sister moment. It had been too long since they had had one. "I also bought these," she said, pulling another small package from her pocket. 

"What are they?" Nina asked, gingerly opening the box. Inside were three little clips, which appeared to be normal hair barrettes. Besides shimmering in a mystical way, they appeared to be completely non-magical. 

"Let me see," George said eagerly. He peered into the box and couldn't hold back a half smirk. 

"What?" Ginny asked crossly. A smirk from either of the twins often meant danger. 

"Nothing, I thought they were ours, but they weren't." 

"Nope," agreed Fred from his seat. 

Ginny made a narrow Weasley face at the twins, which perfectly matched one of Percy's distasteful scrounges. "Ignore them," she whispered so only Nina and Dylan could hear. 

Being that it was spring, the butterflies were more than happy to sit and flap their wings in Nina's silky hair this time. Ginny and Dylan carefully places them strategically around her straight locks, then placed the three clips between them, making a crown-like affect in Nina's hair. Even the mantel mirror had nothing bad to say about her appearance. 

"Perfect!" Ginny exclaimed, stepping back and examining their work. Both girls giggled, which made Dylan role his eyes and look away embarrassed. Since it was no longer a huge secret to her siblings that they were now an item, Dylan kissed Nina lightly, assuring her that she was the most beautiful girl there. Well, all the other girls were nearly twice his age, anyway. 

A few minutes later, Mr. Weasley apparated into the Borrow. He came smiling into the living room, holding out his arms for his baby girl. "Dad!" Nina shrieked, trying hard to keep breathing under his tight hug. 

"Dinner!" Mrs. Weasley called. Famished, they started poured into the dining room, ready to eat their hearts out. Ginny looked awkwardly at the door and pulled Nina back into the living room. 

"I have to go home," she said sadly. 

"Stay," Nina pleaded. 

"I can't… I need to work some things out with Scott." 

"Can't it wait?" Nina asked, wondering how in the world someone could resist a Weasley dinner. 

Ginny shook her head, "no. Someone once told me: never go to bed mad. Stay up and fight." 

"Who told you that?" Nina asked. 

"Hermione." 

"Hermione?" Nina was shocked. "She doesn't have problems with Ron… does she?" 

"Marriage is a funny thing, sis. You know why they say and they lived happily ever after in fairytales?" 

"Because they do?" 

"No." 

"Why then?" 

"Because those are stories. No matter how perfect something seems, we all have our problems. And we can work that out. I truly believe that if there is love, then there is a way. And I love Scott, but…" she paused and laughed quietly to herself. "Your fifteen, don't worry yourself with my problems." 

"You're my sister, of course I'm worried," responded Nina. 

"We'll be fine, it's Percy and Penelope that I'm more worried about. Poor Perc has been through a lot more than the twins know. They insist on making fun of him for being an old hag. Sometimes I wonder how those two even make it in the world, I mean the way they treat some people..." 

Confused, Nina asked, "what's going on with Percy?" 

"Don't worry about," Ginny replied. "Look, I'm sure mum and dad are already killing Dylan so you better go join everyone." Changing her whole attitude, Ginny went on, "I love you very much, have a great time at school." They briefly hugged and Ginny disapparated. 

* * *

The Weasleys minus Molly were seated around a magically enlarged table in the dining room. To Nina's relief, it wasn't Mr. or Mrs. Weasley who was talking to Dylan, but Heather. All right, she wasn't all that relieved. 

"Gin left?" Fred asked. Nina nodded, taking her reserved seat on the other side of Dylan. 

"Help me! I thought I was going to die!" Dylan whispered into Nina's ear. 

In return, Nina kissed his cheek and put her hand over his, under the table. A few seconds later, Mrs. Weasley came out of the kitchen with Paige, carrying the first course of the meal. 

Fifteen minutes later, two more people entered the Burrow: Hermione Granger Weasley and Penelope Clearwater Weasley. Molly eagerly welcomed her two daughters in law to the table, getting up to accommodate them. 

Hermione smiled warmly at Nina, motioning to give her a moment. Penelope, on the other hand, looked coldly down at her husband. Hermione put her hand on Penny's back and gave her a little push in his direction. 

Clearing her throat, Penelope said hoarsely, "Percy, er, a word?" 

"Ok," Percy's voice cracked. He stood up and followed her out of the dining room, back into the living room where Nina had just finished talked to Ginny. 

Hermione squeezed into a spot between Angelina and Heather, greeting them each with a smile. Soon, she was engaged in a conversation about Hogwarts with Nina and Dylan. Hermione sighed, feeling a great amount of nostalgia. She liked Dylan, though. He was a muggle born, like her. Besides that, he was a Gryffindor. Her sister-in-law deserved the very best; there was no one better for her. 

Aging and plump Mrs. Weasley once again disapeared into her kitchen. Paige followed quickly to help her employer remove the main course from the oven. While they were gone, Percy walked into the dining room quietly, then took his seat. Nina immediately noticed that Penelope was not with him. Poor guy, she thought. 

For at least a few minutes, the Weasleys were polite to Percy, only guessing what might have happened. Hermione switched seats with Mr. Weasley to talk to him privately. Nina suspected that her sister-in-law was involved in some sort of plan to bring the couple back together. Nina would not have been shocked if Ginny were involved as well. It was these grownup things that her sisters held back from her that really ticked Nina off.   


Mr. Weasley pulled a bunch of papers out of his robes, then flattened them on the table. "I did some more digging on the J.K. Rowling woman," he said. 

"Really? Wonderful… tell us!" exclaimed Nina, already forgetting about her sibling's marital problems. 

"It's a long story," Arthur began. Everything was a long story, really. Nina's life was a long, mysterious story. The fact that she didn't know who her real parents were made it that way. Anyway, this was one long story that she was really anxious to hear. 

"Joanne Kathleen Rowling is really Rose Alston. She was the daughter of a witch and a muggle named Richard Alston. Marie Hayton, a Hufflepuff from your mother's Hogwarts year, died at the hands of Voldemort when Rose was two. She had another daughter named Heidrun." 

"So she was half blood?" Dylan asked. 

"Well, the ministry smoothed the whole thing over by making Richard believe that his wife, Marie, had died in a bad automobile accident. He was left with his two and five year old daughters, not knowing that they might be witches. 

When Heidrun was eleven, she received the Hogwarts acceptation letter. She was in the same year as Bill, a Hufflepuff though. The poor girl only learned who her mother really was after a few years at Hogwarts. When Rose turned eleven, though, she did not receive any special invitations to any magic schools. She was devastated, but continued her muggle schooling." 

"So Jo-, I mean Rose was brought up fully muggle?" 

"You see, two months after Heidrun graduated from Hogwarts, her father died of cancer. Rose was still in school, and Heidrun became her legal guardian. This was how she came to know our world. Heidrun wrote articles for the Daily Prophet. Both girls were talented writers. 

Rose was so involved in our world that she became known as a simple squib to those who knew her, and to those who didn't, she was probably a witch. After graduating from her muggle school, Rose worked in a bookshop in Diagon Alley, hoping that her sister could get her a job at the Daily Prophet. " 

"Did she?" Nina asked. 

"No, they didn't want any squibs, even if she was a brilliant writer." 

"That hardly seems fair; you don't need to have magic to write," Dylan commented. 

"Perhaps," said Mr. Weasley. He continued. "Rose pleaded with the Prophet and even with the Ministry to include her in our Wizarding society. We didn't know what to do, because it is rare that a half-muggle squib begs the Ministry to allow 'em to have a job." 

"So she wanted to write Harry's biography?" Nina asked, shocked at how much sense it made. 

"Yes, precisely. She brought the idea to the Ministry, hoping to get rights for the project. At first they thought she wanted to write a textbook for us, not the muggles. It was a good long laugh we had… that muggles would ever read a magic book about Harry. But they let her, hoping it would keep her off their back about the Prophet job. 

When Rose published the first book, she was pushed to change her name and identity. The woman in all the pictures is not what Rose looks like; it is what Joanne looks like. She is given poly juice potion to become another woman, I'm not sure who though. My guess is she is a sick witch living her life out in St. Mungo's or another hospital with no chance of recovery." 

"Wow, buthe books are amazing though. How did Rose know so much about Harry's life?" Dylan asked. 

"Interviews, mostly. She made up some things, like Ginny in the Chamber of Secrets. It was not Ginny, but a boy named Colin Creevey. Using Ginny added more of a twist. Nothing in those books is false, but rather a little overdone. Molly and I skimmed them last week, but we have yet to read them." 

"So that's it?" Nina asked bewildered. What still tickled her was why so few people in the Wzarding world knew about the huge success of the books about their modern day hero. To some, Harry was nearly a god for saving them from the Dark Lord countless times. 

As if Mr. Weasley could read her mind, he told them, "not many of us know much about the books because they are generally hushed around here. The cover was originally enchanted to read Advanced Calculus to witches and wizards, but the Ministry found no reason to hide them in the newer editions. No one seems to care." 

At that moment, Mrs. Weasley re-entered the dining hall, magically floating about a dozen plates of steaming food. Each dish lightly fell with a 'plop' in front of a guest. All immediate conversation was broken as they prepared to eat a delicious meal. 

George neatly tucked his napkin into the top of his robes and gingerly picked up his knife and fork and scooped up a prodigious amount of food, eagerly wolfed it down, then repeated the process a few times. All the while, Heather started giggling; Nina had a bad suspicion that there was something going on under the table between the two of them. 

"George Weasley!" Mrs. Weasley shouted, nearly standing in her seat. Arthur placed his arm on her shoulder, gently pushing her back into her chair. "I demand deference at this table!" 

In response to the injunction, George shot back, "so it is now a crime to eat?" 

Mr. Weasley calmly elaborated: "Fred, I think your mother is trying to say that your actions are not opportune, and therefor not appreciated in this house." 

At that moment, Percy ingratiated himself into the growing conflict. "Yeah, better shut-up because you're giving me a headache and I have a lot to think about with the Daily Prophet reporting a faction in the Ministry." 

"A what in the Ministry?" Dylan asked. No one seemed to hear him 

"Stop sniveling Percy," Fred shot at his older brother. 

Percy quailed, but still sternly told the twins, "it's not my fault that neither of you can not propriety to simple table manners, especially in front of girls!" 

Both twins looked as though they were about to jump their older brother, Mrs. Weasley looked outraged and the rest of the Weasleys and guests were trying not to laugh too loud. It was so evident how much the family loved each other, but outbreaks at big family dinners were not uncommon anymore. 

Hermione finally arbitrated the dispute. "I have a whim," she announced, smiling. The Weasleys turned and looked at Hermione as if she were a raving lunatic. Angelina put her hand on her shoulder and nodded for utter silence so she could enlighten the group. No one spoke for fear of the Quidditch player's known temper. 

"Magic," she said. They gawked for further explanation. "Fred wants to eat like a chicken, so be it…" 

"I didn't raise him to be a ne'er-do-well!" interrupted Mrs. Weasley. 

"He's not a boy, Molly." Mrs. Weasley winced as her daughter-in-law addressed her by her first name in such a disrespectful tone. "He's thirty-two, in fact," she went on. 

"Gee thanks," Fred said, "make me feel like an old hag…" 

"Be quiet," Hermione snapped. She dug into her pocket and drew her wand. 

"What are you doing to me, witch?" Fred shouted. 

"Didn't I tell you to be quiet?" she asked rhetorically. 

"Something like that…" 

"Without uttering a word, Hermione shot silver sparks from her wand, at Fred. He opened his mouth and not a sound came out. "Much better," she smiled. "Happy devouring." She picked up her own fork and began to cut a piece of steak, when out of no where a ball of mashed potatoes hit her forehead. 

"What the…" Ron started. But the half grin on Fred's face conspicuously revealed that he was responsible for the flying potatoes on his brother's wife's head. Fred waved his arms and mouthed two words which looked something like Food Fight! 

* * *

Half way through the food fight, something began to tingle in Nina's hair, and it wasn't cranberry sauce either. She reached up and touched her hair… and something bit her finger! She firecly grabbed it, giving George a desired opportunity to send another round of spaghetti at her face. 

"Aahh!" Nina shouted, as the greasy noodles slid down her face. A pain in her finger told her that the little clip was still very much attached to her finger. Nina violently shook her finger, trying to get it off. With all her might, she pulled back her hand as if to throw a baseball, and released the thing at top speed… toward Fred. 

The tiny clip landed smack on Fred's nose, immediately grabbing hold. Fred began to frantically jump around, forgetting the past in his hands, he clamped a finger over his nose, while searching for his wand with the other. 

It was evident that Fred knew the counter spell, but he was still under a silencing charm, and couldn't perform it. In a desperate attempt to get his twin brother's attention away from the salad dressing he was pouring over Percy's head, Fred shot out an array of colored sparks which half blinded Nina. 

Dylan's head popped out from under the table; he had just crawled across. Apparantly he no longer cared what food came his way. Everyone's robes were covered in it, anyway. Dylan imformed Nina, who was hysterically laughing, that Hermione and Angelina were hiding under the table. 

"And Heather?" asked Nina. The American girl was helping George hold Percy down, while she herself was covered head to toe in soup and some other slime. 

"No George, not the fruit cake. It looks yummy…" 

"But I don't like fruit cake," George responded. He scooped up a handful of the cake and spread it in Percy's face. 

"Poor guys," laughed Dylan, talking about Fred and Percy. Fred's mouth was moving in vain, trying to find help. 

"You know I reckon he made those clips," Nina said. She ripped the other two out of her hair and attached them to the table edge, careful not the catch her finger in them. "Good thing, they were probably designed to do that after a while." 

"Really, you think?" asked Dylan. 

"Yeah, seems like one of their new experiments, knowing Fred and George. Besides, how else would he know the counter spell?" 

"He does?" 

"Of course, he's shouting it." 

"I guess your right, oh well. Serves him right, I guess." 

"Yeah… well, maybe." 

"Where are your parents?" 

"I think they escaped to the kitchen," Nina guessed. 

"Smart." 

"Maybe." 

With George and Heather attacking Percy, and Fred desperately trying to get his own death trap creation off his nose, Nina and Dylan were left to chat. 

"You know it's a shame you couldn't have met my other brothers. They're a little more, well, how can I put this… civilized." 

"I'm sure they are," Dylan smiled. 

"And Hailey is a button," sighed Nina. She missed her part Veela, part Weasley niece. The girl was quite a handful, but Nina was glad to give up her title as the youngest Weasley. Bill and Fleur lived in France, and rarely visited. 

As Percy was no longer being a good sport about his abuse, George finally noticed his brother in distress. He ran over and performed the counter-curse, laughing the entire time. Fred looked as though he was about to slap his twin, but decided not to, obviously scared that he would set the clip lose on him again if he dared hit him. 

Things were beginning to settle down. Hermione and Angelina came up from under the table, and even the twins looked a little saner. They swept their wands across the room, summoning all the food into a large ball and disposing it in the kitchen. 

Having no way of helping, Nina and Dylan sat back down at the forgotten table. Percy was slumped over in his chair, eyes following a small circular knot in the wooden surface. Overall, he did not look too good. 

Nina stared at her brother for a few moments, trying to figure out a way to comfort him. This was a hard task when she hardly knew what was going on, and was so distant from her brother. Nina sighed. She felt Dylan wrap his arm around her waist, then brush aside her hair, planting a sweet kiss on her neck. 

"Ok?" he whispered. 

"I feel bad." 

"Don't." 

"I wish I could help..." 

"Sometimes people are better left alone to their own devises. I think your brother needs that now, you know, to think things through." 

Nina sighed again. "There must be something…" The dining room door shot open. Nina and Dylan's eyes shot up at Penelope Clearwater Weasley as she entered the room. Percy, thinking that it was Fred or George (or both), only lowered his head into his arms. 

"Percy Weasley!" Penelope shrilled. 

"Penny?" Percy pulled his head up and slowly turned around in his seat. His wife stood cross-armed next to the door. 

Completely ignoring the presence of two fifteen-year-olds in the room, Penelope openly shouted at her husband. "I told you to come home, but do you listen?" 

"…" 

"Don't talk back to me." 

"Why can't we talk this out…" 

"What's there to talk out? I can't have children and that bothers you…" 

"No…" 

"Admit it, you want children that I can't give you." 

"Penny…" 

Nina gasped, staring wide-eyed at her brother and sister-in-law. 

"I was a fool for marrying you, Percy Weasley." 

"Maybe so, Penny," he said standing up. Nina couldn't help but notice tears forming in Penelope's eyes. "But I was so in love I didn't notice." This said, tears began to freely flow don't Penny's cheeks. 

"I love you," she whispered. In the most unlike Percy way, he threw his arms around her, kissing her madly all over her face and forehead, finally letting his lips press against her. 

"I love you," Percy caricatured, finally pulling away. Penelope rested her head on his shoulder, freely crying. 

"I want children too," she sobbed. 

"There, there." 

Silently, Dylan took Nina's hand and led her out of the dining room, back into the living room. "Is your family always so dramatic?" he asked. 

"Well… yeah," replied Nina. 

"I guess dinner is over, then," commented Dylan. 

"Yeah, you could say that. Well at least Percy is all right." 

"Where did your brother run off to?" asked Dylan. They searched the house, but Fred and George had apparently apparated home with their dates. Go figure. 

* * *

The next morning, Nina woke with a pit in her stomach. At first, she tried to shake it off. After dressing in muggle jeans and a tee shirt, she went down the kitchen. There was an eerie silence when Nina entered the room. 

"Mum?" Mrs. Weasley looked up at her youngest daughter, her face streaked with tears. "Mum what's wrong?" 

Mr. Weasley, who's hand was over Mrs. Weasley's at the kitchen table, held up the Daily Prophet. "Murder," he said. 

"Murder!" 

"Yes," replied Arthur quietly. "It must have been, I don't see any other way." 

"Who, dad?" 

"Doctor Thalia Stark." 

The name did not ring a bell to Nina, but her father explained that she was the doctor who had helped them adopt her. "Me? What do I have to do with this? How do they know she was murdered?" Nina was suddenly too weak to stand. Someone who was probably linked to her birth mother was dad… why? 

"Found in her office, papers all over the place, the whole place ripped apart," Mrs. Weasley said between sobs, quietly. 

Mr. Weasley read from the article: "Ministry representatives confirmed that the wand used to kill Ms. Stark was none other than her own. 'Suicide, although unlikely, can not be out ruled,' reported by Roy Hayton from the Department of Mysteries." "It's complete bull, of course." 

"Why would she tear apart her own office?" Nina asked. 

"She wouldn't," Mrs. Weasley said, before loudly blowing her nose into a handkerchief. Mr. Weasley patted her back awkwardly and went to make Molly a cup of tea. 

"Where is everyone?" Nina asked her mother, who had calmed down a bit. 

"Who do you mean, love?" asked Mrs. Weasley. "Your boy friend is still sleeping in the twin's rooms, and I dare say that your food throwing brothers are probably opening the shop soon, if you would like to visit later. Don't worry yourself with this, you're too young." 

Ignoring that her mother had just called Dylan her boyfriend, Nina responded, "I'm not too young, I wish everyone would stop saying that!" 

"I'm sorry dear, sometimes it is better to live worry-free as long as you can. Dark times we used to live in, and I've seen children being forced to lose their innocence at very tender ages." 

Nina blinked a few times, wondering if something was lodged in her eyeball. There was nothing but salty tears, for she knew that her mother was talking about Harry. They had all lived through those dark times, all except for Nina. She was only a few years old when Voldemort met his second downfall. There were those traumatized by it and others without their lives or loved ones, but all in all, it drew them together as a stronger community. 

It was unknown to Nina why she was crying. She could not remember ever meeting Thalia Stark. She supposed she was crying for all those who had lost their lives for her generation. She was crying for her mother's loss and for her own innocence. There were so many questions Nina had, but then and there, she only wanted to cry in her mother's arms like a small child. Everything could wait until later. It was going to be all right, answers would be sought and she _would_ find answers... however much they might hurt. 

* * *

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the fluffy fluff and maybe Nina, The Jones, Heather, Scott and my theories on J.K. Rowling. Thank you and do not sue! 


End file.
